Christmas Visit
by the.ghost.writer.girl
Summary: Since Danny graduated high school, he hasn't spoken to his family in four years. As his girlfriend, it's Sam's idea to get them talking again. Set after college, but pre-Phantom Planet. Rated T for language and ANGST
1. Chapter 1

A familiar sensation woke me from sleep.

My ghost sense was going off.

'That's weird.' I thought, throwing the covers back. 'There hasn't been an attack for years.'

I heard something move around in the room behind me and I turned around.

"I heard you'd quit fighting ghosts." Someone said.

I whirled around and changed to ghost. "Whatever you heard, you heard wrong."

"So, it's not true what went down between you and the old man?" Skulker demanded, stepping out of the shadows.

"That's none of your business." I replied, hurling an energy beam at him.

It knocked him backwards, and into my desk chair.

He stood up. "You've gotten better."

"Yeah, I've had lots of time to practice." I replied.

"Have you?" He asked, grinning.

I sighed. "Look, Skulker, why don't you just tell me what you're looking for?"

"You, essentially." He said.

"What are you doing? Trying to provoke me back into action?" I demanded. "Not going to work."

Skulker laughed. "Not even close, Ghost Child. You always were a step behind."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're worth an awful lot these days, Phantom." He responded.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well some things never change, I guess."

He laughed again and I sent several blasts his way.

I duplicated myself and sent the duplicate after him.

He ran from it, and while he wasn't paying attention, I sent a ghost blast his way.

It knocked him over and I used my duplicate to bring him down and freeze him.

After that, it was a simple matter of using my ghost ray as a means of exploding him. His form would regenerate in a few hours but for now, I threw his shards out the window.

Sighing, I climbed back into bed, my adrenaline pumping.

I lie awake, listening to my heart rate climb.

After a few minutes, I rolled over and checked the time.

The digital clock read 3:45 AM.

Sighing, I stood up out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

It was pretty much inevitable that I wasn't getting back to sleep.

I jumped into the shower, letting the cold water wash away any traces of sleep.

Skulker showing up out of nowhere reminded me of my high school life. My _past _life.

I closed my eyes and stuck my head through the shower water, letting it run down my face.

The sensation was both calming and energizing.

After I got out of the shower, I had a cup of coffee and read for a few hours.

A little while later, I went out for a walk.

The wind was bitter cold so I doubled up layers.

A snowstorm had blown in overnight and as I walked, my shoes disappeared in the snow.

On my walk, I saw a few people that I recognized and I stopped to tell them hello.

I walked out of my area and went over to a different apartment complex. I decided that I'd take the stairs instead of the elevator today.

This apartment complex was a lot different from my own.

It housed twenty five different apartments while mine housed only ten.

Instead of spacious balconies, it had one large patio on the lowest level.

Another way it was different from my apartment building was the occupants.

While this apartment building housed regular apartment-dwellers, mine was geared more toward the wealthy.

Like myself.

But I liked this apartment building better anyway. Because one of those occupants was my girlfriend, Sam Manson.

When she came to the door, she was still in her pajamas.

"Well, hello." I said, grinning. "Did you sleep well?"

She mumbled a response and walked back over to the couch, leaving the door open for me to follow her inside.

I shut the door behind me and walked over to the couch.

She smiled sleepily up at me. "I would kill you for waking me up, but you look handsome today."

I laughed. "Only today?"

"Yeah. The rest of the time, you could use some work." She replied, then winked.

I crouched down in front of her, smiling.

She leaned forward on the couch and put her hand on my white t-shirt.

"I love it when boys wear white t-shirts." She said. "But you know what I love even more?"

I put my hand on her knee. "What's that?"

"When boys spend time with their family." She said.

I stiffened. I knew exactly what she was getting at.

"Come on, Danny. You said so yourself, you haven't seen your parents in years." Sam said.

"That doesn't mean I want to go and stay with them for two weeks, and through Chistmas." I said.

"Why not?" She asked. "The holidays are a perfect time to reconnect with old family members."

"Maybe so, but not for me and my family." I said.

"Why not? I'm sure if you went up there they would-"

"I don't want to talk about this." I said, rising to my full height.

After I became a junior, I shot up to almost six feet, eclipsing my old high school bully, Dash Baxter.

She stood up too. "All I'm saying is this. You haven't seen your folks in so long. And I'd really like to re-visit our old town…"

I looked to the ground. "I don't know if that's such a good idea right now, Sam. Maybe next year."

I exited the living room and walked the few steps over to her kitchen, expecting her to follow.

She turned around but didn't follow me.

Her arms were crossed so I knew she wanted to talk about this some more.

I sighed. "What else?"

"What?" She asked.

"I know that you have other reasons why you want to go. What else?" I repeated.

She sighed. "Danny..."

"Come on, I know you have another reason." I said.

"I just...I think it would do you good to see your parents again." She hesitated.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because." She crossed her arms.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sam?"

"Because you've built a wall between you and your parents and every day that you don't talk to them or at least talk _about _them, that wall just gets bigger and bigger." She said.

I narrowed my eyes. "You don't know what happened between us back then, Sam."

"Well I would know if you'd ever tell me!" She yelled.

This wasn't the first time we'd had this fight.

About six months ago, she bugged me to call up my folks and see if we could spend the Fourth of July with them.

I told her that I did, and my parents were going to visit Vlad for the weekend.

Sam believed me, up until about a week before the Fourth, when she called Jazz.

Thankfully, when Sam mentioned to my sister that I hadn't told her what had happened between the two of us, Jazz wouldn't tell her either.

Sam and I had this crazy fight and I apologized. She didn't see me all week, went to visit her family.

When she got back to New York, she said we could be together again, but I couldn't lie to her ever again.

At least during this fight, she hadn't gone storming off yet.

"Sam, I told you before, I just…can't tell you about that." I said, massaging my temples.

"Why not? You know, you say that you're ready for this huge commitment to me, but you won't even be honest with me about this?" She demanded.

"Sam, my family has nothing to do with my love for you." I said.

"I'm not saying that it does. But if you can't open up and be honest with me about this, how on earth am I supposed to believe your 'till death do us part'?" She asked.

"That's not fair." I took a step toward her. "Sam, you know that I'm completely in love with you."

"But you don't trust me." She said.

"That's not true."

"How do I know?" She asked.

I sighed. "You have to trust me."

"Wow. That's so going to happen now." She said, eyebrows drawn down.

"I came over to take you out to breakfast." I said.

"Really? I'm not really hungry anymore, Danny." She said.

"Yes, really. And Sam, what do you want me to say?" I demanded.

"I want you to say something! Anything about your family! Instead of just burying it and never talking about!" She screamed, walking toward me.

When she reached me, she put her hands on my chest. "Danny, you have to let me in."

I sighed and closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around her.

She snuggled against my chest and I held her tightly.

"Danny, please." She whispered. "I need to know what happened."

"They disagreed with me." I said. "About my life."

"What?" She pulled away. "What do you mean?"

"About what college I wanted to go to." I said. At least that part was semi-true.

"What?" She demanded. "You mean that you've been fighting with your parents for five years because they didn't agree with your academic choice?"

I shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes. "Look me in the eye and tell me that."

I met her stare. "They didn't agree with what I wanted to do with my life."

She sighed and closed her eyes.

I leaned her head against my chest again, and listened to her breathe.

At least what I told her was almost true.

I'm sure that this wouldn't be the last time I heard this argument.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam pulled away from me. "Still want to take me out to breakfast?"

I laughed. "Of course. I'll meet you outside."

She nodded and I exited her apartment.

Outside on the balcony, the chilly air helped me think.

Beneath me, the white snow blanketed the ground.

Small snow flurries still flew from the sky.

I closed my eyes and released the breath I'd been holding.

"Ok, I'm ready." Sam said behind me.

I turned around and she was pulling on her converse.

She looked beautiful in her faded blue jeans and paint-splattered t-shirt advertising one of her favorite bands.

Her black converse that she was pulling on really completed her outfit.

I smiled. She was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"That quickly?" I asked.

She nodded, finished with her shoes. "It's one of the reason's why you love me."

I leaned my back against the balcony railing. "What is?"

"The fact that I get ready quickly. A lot quicker than _Paulina _ever would have." She grinned.

"Oh, I can't believe you brought her up." I laughed.

She grabbed a jacket and a hoodie, still grinning.

"Hey, you're the one who had a crush on her." She said.

"Yeah, while I was a freshman. When I became a sophomore, I was into you." I said.

"Really?" She pulled the simple gray hoodie on over her head.

I crossed over to her and picked up the jacket she'd laid on the floor.

I held it up for her to put her arms through.

"Here." I said. "And yes, really."

"Wow, I always thought you were into Paulina all through high school." She said, turning around, buttoning up the jacket.

"Nope. I was into you after I turned fifteen and I realized that it Paulina was only into Inviso-Bill." I almost smacked myself for reminding her of my ghost half.

"Yeah, Danny Fenton did nothing for her." She closed the door behind her and walked over to her.

"Lucky for me, Danny Fenton does everything for me." She whispered.

I kissed her softly.

"You ready?" She asked when I pulled away.

"Yeah." I replied. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, pulling her simple black purse over her body. "Anywhere that will serve us at this ungodly hour."

I laughed. "Sam, it's seven. I'd hardly call that ungodly."

She wrapped her arm around my waist as we descended the staircase.

"You that I love you, right?" She asked, looking at me.

I furrowed my brow. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

She shrugged and pulled me closer.

"I just don't think people say it enough." Sam gave a small sigh as we continued our way down the snow-covered streets.

"It's so beautiful." She whispered.

"Yeah." I pulled her closer to me. "Yeah, it is."

We walked on in silence, headed toward a small café a few blocks down the street.

"I know that you don't want to talk about your family...but can I just ask one question?" She sounded so curious. I didn't want to have another fight with her.

"One." I sighed. "You said you haven't talked to your parents in five years…does that mean that they didn't come to your college graduation?"

I shook my head. "No, they didn't."

She wrapped her arm tighter around me. "I'm sorry."

"It's not a big deal." I said.

She pulled away. "No, it is. Danny, I want us to make amends with them."

"What?" I asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "What are you talking about? Why?"

"I want them to come to our wedding, Danny. I want them to see you say 'I do'. I know that family at a wedding doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but it is for me." She said, crossing her arms to lock in heat.

I felt my eyebrows draw down. "We've talked about this before, Sam. You know that I don't want them there."

"But why not? If you guys have been fighting over something stupid for so long, why don't you just give it up and go see them?" She demanded.

"Because it wasn't about something stupid!" I yelled.

She blinked.

I never yelled at her. I took a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"You lied to me." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"You lied to me." She repeated. "I told you to tell me the truth, and you chose to lie to me again."

"It wasn't a lie." I said. "We did have a fight about that…"

"It's just not the reason you guys aren't talking anymore, is it?" She asked.

I sighed. "Sam…"

"Is it?" She demanded.

I shook my head. "No, it's not."

"I can't believe this." She continued walking toward the café, not waiting for me to follow.

I did anyway though. She knew that she was the best thing I had in my life.

She was all I had.

"Sam, I'm sorry." I called, jogging to catch up with her.

She turned around. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm sorry. And it won't happen again." I said.

"You said those exact same words six months ago, when I visited my family on the Fourth of July."

"Well this time-"

"What? This time you actually mean it? How am I supposed to believe you if you didn't mean it then?" She asked.

"You just are." I said.

"Wow. Real convincing, Danny. Why don't you talk to me when you think of a better excuse?"

"It's not an excuse. It's the truth. I am sorry." I said.

"What did we just talk about back in my apartment?" She asked.

"What?" I asked.

At this point, my head was so full of what she was saying that I couldn't remember what we talked about then.

"Trust. We talked about trust, Danny. How am I supposed to be able to say 'I do' to a man I don't even trust?" Sam asked.

"Sam, I told you. My family has nothing to do with my love for you." I repeated.

"Danny, I'm not talking about your family. I'm talking about you. How can I trust you?"

I took a step toward her. "Because I love you. And because you know that I've never felt this way about anyone."

She sighed. "I don't…I can't do this."

With that, she turned around and walked into the café.

I followed her in, ready for another argument.

To my surprise, she didn't want to argue.

"I just want everything to be normal between us again." She said, pulling me into an embrace.

"It will be." I promised.

"Then I have an idea." She said.

"What's that?" I asked.

Her jacket felt cold beneath my fingers.

She pulled away enough to stare into my eyes.

"You say that you've never felt this way about anyone." She said.

I nodded. "I mean it, Sam. You're the only one I'll ever love."

"Then I have an idea of how you can prove it." Sam said.

"What? I thought I proved that by proposing to you." I said.

"Ok, maybe not exactly prove your love. But show me that I can still trust you." She said.

"Ok. What's this great idea of yours?" I asked.

Right before she opened her mouth, I got the strangest feeling like I had made a huge mistake.

Whatever came out of her mouth, I knew I wouldn't like.

"I want us to go see your family for Christmas." She said, crossing her arms.

Yeah. I didn't like that.

d been holding.

and released teh


	3. Chapter 3

"What?" I asked.

She took my hand and led me to a table in a corner of the café.

She sat down on one side of the table, so I sat down across from her.

"I want us to visit your family. You haven't seen them in so long, Danny." She said.

"Yeah, and I also haven't seen Vlad in a really long time, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go and visit him for the holidays." I replied.

"Yeah Danny, but Vlad isn't your family." She replied.

"I know." I said.

Sam was staring at me and I had to look away.

"Danny, come on. You know that you miss them." She said.

"Barely." I said emotionlessly.

She sighed. "I told you that this was the way you could prove to me that I could trust you again."

"That's ridiculous. Seeing my family isn't going to show you that you can trust me again." I said.

"It will." She said.

"How?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Fine, maybe it won't prove it. But it will certainly make up for it."

I groaned.

"So, what's it going to be?" She asked.

"Sam, are you seriously going to make me decide?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Do you really want to make it up to me or do you want to go on feeling guilty for lying to me?"

"First of all, I don't feel guilty. And second of all, was this all some big plot to get me to go to my parents house?" I asked.

"No, it wasn't. And since you don't feel guilty, I'm taking out the second option. That leaves one left." She said.

I hesitated.

"Please, please, please." She begged.

"Sam-"

"Please!" She held her clasped hands up in front of her face, giving me her best puppy-dog eyes.

I let out a sigh.

"Is that a yes?" She asked, lowering her hands but only slightly.

"That's a maybe." I said.

"Oh come on, Danny!" She said, dropping her hands back onto the table.

Her eyes looked normal again.

"Sam, I'm sorry." I said. "I just don't know what you want me to say."

"I just want you to say that you'll go to see your family." She said.

"I don't...I don't know if I can." I said.

"You can't run from them your whole life." She said.

"I'm not running." I said.

"Yes you are."

I covered my face with my hands. "Sam..."

"Please? I heard that they're tearing down Casper High soon and I really want to see it before they do." She told me.

I didn't respond for a second.

"And I know that you wouldn't mind seeing it either." She added.

"Ok." I whispered and let out a sigh.

I'd had every intention of fighting her on this. But for some reason, I didn't want to. Not anymore.

She was right. I _was _running from my parents and I needed to face them.

Four years was a long time.

Determination set in as I met her eyes.

"Ok, I'll go." I said.

"Really?" She asked. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." I said.

"You want to go?" She asked.

I chuckled. "Yes. And if you don't quit asking me that, I may change my mind."

She laughed nervously. "Sorry."

I shrugged and stood up. "Let's eat."

She followed me to the counter and as we reached it, she slid her hand into mine and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Sam." I said, glancing at her to give her a smile.

After breakfast, we went back to my apartment.

"You know, every time I come to your place, I always seem to have forgotten how big it was the last time I was here." She said.

I laughed. "That's because you live in your postage-stamp size of an apartment."

"Maybe so." She laughed and pulled me in for an embrace. "But soon I'll be living with you."

"Yes. You will be." I smiled. "Soon to be Mrs. Fenton."

She giggled and buried her face into my chest.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, using my thumb to turn her face up towards me.

Her skin felt smooth beneath my fingertips.

"To be completely honest…a little bit." She said, biting her lip.

I used my finger to gently pull her lip from her teeth.

My mouth covered hers, kissing her with as much passion as I did the night I asked her to be my wife.

She pulled away. "I need air."

I laughed.

She grinned, flicking her gaze up at me.

"Are you?" She asked, her hand on my chest.

"Am I what?"

"Nervous." She was biting her lip again.

"Maybe." I whispered. "I'll tell you something though."

Her lip slowly came free of her teeth. "What?" She whispered back.

Her eyes looked like diamonds, framed by a set of dark lashes.

She was so stunningly beautiful.

I chuckled nervously. "I'm more nervous about seeing my family."

Her eyebrows drew down, bringing worry into those diamond eyes of hers. "What? Why?"

"It's been four years, Sam." I said. "How do I know that they even want to talk to me anymore?"

She sounded exasperated when she said. "Because you're their child!"

I swallowed.

She let out a breath and turned around, staring out one of the large windows in my living room.

I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"I want you to go back to Amity Park because I want you to reconcile with your family. I want us to be able to take our children to see their grandparents." She said.

"I wouldn't wish that upon my children." I laughed.

She turned around, a look of confusion and amusement on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"You remember my parents. When I was in high school, I thought they were crazy." I said.

"True." She replied, smiling. "But it'd still be nice to know that we have the option of our children seeing their grandparents."

"Why not your parents?" I asked.

"Because unlike your parents, mine actually are crazy." She replied.

I laughed and pulled her back into my arms.

"When did your parents expect us?" She asked.

"Tomorrow." I said.

"Great." She pulled away and planted a kiss onto my lips. "We should book a flight for tomorrow morning."

"That soon?" I asked. "You know that people always show up late to Christmas get-togethers."

"Yeah, but that's not the way that we roll." She grinned and bounced off into my bedroom where I kept my computer.

She was no doubt going in there to book two plane tickets.

I sighed.

How on earth was I going to survive two weeks with my family? Especially when Sam didn't even know what happened between the three of us...


	4. Chapter 4

I'd talked to Sam about us staying in a hotel, but the invitation said that I could stay in my parents' house.

They didn't know that I had a girlfriend, but it wouldn't be that big of a deal for one extra person.

And besides, if it was, we would go to a hotel.

She said to be courteous, we should at least stay the first night in my old home.

"Plus," She added. "I'll get to sleep in your high school bed. You know, the bed you slept in when you had all those dreams about Paulina?"

I laughed. "Paulina never did anything for me."

"Sure, that's what you say now." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"It's the truth," I said. "Remember what I told you about my sophomore year? I was completely crushed out on you."

"And you did nothing because…?" She asked, turning around in the computer chair to look at me.

"Because I didn't know if you felt the same way and because you were my best friend. If you hadn't liked me, I would have made a fool out of myself. And risked losing you as a friend." I explained. "I couldn't take that risk."

She pursued her lips. "Well for the record, I liked you back in high school."

"That would have been nice to know." I replied.

"I was scared of the same things you were, Danny." She said.

"Wow. Our high school years could have been so much better." I said.

She laughed. "Or much worse, depending on how you look at it."

"How do you figure?" I asked.

"Imagine the teasing we would have had to endure from Tucker." She said.

I grinned. "Yeah, but he's one person."

"Allow me to re-phrase. Imagine the teasing we would have had to endure at al. From anyone. Don't you remember the way Dash and Paulina used to make fun of us?" She asked.

"Oh yeah!" I snickered. "Didn't they call us lovebirds?"

"Yeah, they did." She said, smiling.

"I haven't thought about my classmates in a long time." I said. "After I graduated high school, I never looked back."

"Yeah, well that could be because you were picked on in high school." She said.

"Not after I got bigger than Dash in my junior year." I said. "After I kicked his butt, he kind of backed off."

She shrugged.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, my head still in memory lane.

After a moment, I cleared my head and looked at Sam, trying to piece together what I wanted to say.

"Listen, Sam, I know that the invitation said that our arrival was expected by the eleventh of December, but we don't have to fly out tomorrow." I said. "We could wait another few days. They said to come as soon as I was able to."

"Yeah, I know they said that you could show up at any time, but we don't want to seem rude. Besides, your mom said in the invite that she also invited some of our old classmates. I know you want to see how everyone turned out." She replied, turning around to finish booking our flight for tomorrow morning.

I sighed.

"Danny, whatever happened between you and your parents was four years ago. And this a step in the right direction." She said over her shoulder.

I waited till she was finished before I dropped my shoulders.

She had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

But, she didn't get to see her family much since her father passed away.

Her mom and grandma moved to Washington a few months later.

Sam never travels to see them because they live almost three thousand miles apart.

So, these next two weeks, for her, I would try and get along with my family.

At least I had the option of seeing my parents...

I knew that it would mean the world to her if both of our families were together for our wedding.

So I would go and make nice with my folks, if it meant making Sam happy.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur as I packed and unpacked for Michigan.

I continued to waver between just going up to my parents house like I said I would, or going to Sam's place and telling her that I wasn't going to go like I said I was.

If our flight was delayed for even a minute, I would take it as a sign.

But the next morning, at precisely seven thirty, I was sitting in first class with Sam in the seat next to me.

I was nervously tapping my fingers on the arm rest as the plane gradually lifted into the air.

Sam glanced over at me.

"Will you calm down? You're like a giant ball of nerves, Danny." She said.

"Sorry." I mumbled and crossed my arms, sliding further down into my seat.

"Everything's going to be ok." She told me.

"I know." I replied, not believing even myself.

"Besides." She said. "You have fourteen hours to come up with what to say to your parents."

I nodded.

About two and a half hours into the trip, Sam set her book down on her lap and got my attention.

I paused the music on my iPhone and looked out her window.

"You can see the buildings and cars from up here." She said.

I smiled. "Yeah."

She turned to look at me. "How are you not fascinated by this?"

I shrugged. "I travel a lot for work, you know that."

"Yeah, but I bet you never had a better travel partner." She grinned.

I laughed. "No, I haven't."

She snuggled up closer to me, her head lying on my shoulder.

"I love you." I told her and kissed the top of her head.

"Good." She replied, snaking her arm around mine. "Because I love you too."

We stayed that way for a few hours, with Sam drifting in and out of consciousness.

I slept for a while as well due to the fact that I had spent most of my sleeping hours tossing and turning.

Despite what I told Sam, I was a nervous wreck about seeing my parent again.

Why had they sent an invite this year? They did last year and I still didn't come.

Did they actually expect me to come this year? What if they weren't expecting me? Would they be disappointed if I showed up?

Would they be disappointed if I showed up with Sam?

Was the invite just a formality? Were they going to turn us away if we showed up on their doorstep?

Should I call Jazz?


	5. Chapter 5

All of these questions ran through my mind as Sam slept peacefully on my shoulder.

I turned my volume up louder on my iPhone, hoping to block out these questions and get a moments peace.

But it didn't do much help.

So I tried to sleep, but the questions kept filling up my head.

Eventually, I gently shifted Sam's head off my shoulder, and went to the bathroom.

Inside, I splashed cold water on my face, my hands shaking.

I gripped the sink as a memory came back to me.

My father and I were yelling at each other, obviously in a heated argument.

In a moment of bad judgment, he grabbed a beaker off of the table next to him.

It broke when it hit my chest and the sticky green liquid seeped into my skin, burning me wherever it touched.

I screamed in agony, and tore my shirt loose from my body.

I was trying to get the liquid off of me when he started toward me.

"Danny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Stay away from me!" I yelled, running from him and up the stairs, out of the lab.

Back inside the airplane, my knuckles had gone white as the porcelain sink I was gripping.

Slowly, I released my hold on the sink and loosened the tie around my neck.

I unbuttoned the first four buttons and looked at my chest in the mirror.

The burn from that incident was still clearly visible on my chest. A scar had formed there about a month after the accident.

Maybe if my parents and I made up, I would get it laser removed.

A certain hardness bit into me as I rebuttoned my shirt.

No. Regardless of what happened between my parents and me now, it wouldn't erase what happened between us then.

No amount of laser surgery would take back their rejection.

Someone knocked on the door as I straightened my tie.

"Just a second." I called.

I splashed more cold water onto my face, then dried it off with a few paper towels.

I shut the water off and threw the paper towels into the garbage can beside the toilet.

When I opened the door, a man was standing outside holding the hand of a little boy.

I moved aside so the two of them could go into the bathroom, then I made my way back to my seat.

Sam was still asleep when I got back so I tried not to disturb her.

I sat down and slid my earbuds back into my ears, willing this trip to be over already.

My stomach twisted in knots at the thought of having to call my parents to pick us up from the airport.

Yeah, I would definitely have to call Jazz in a little while.

About twenty minutes later, a stewardess asked me if we would like our complimentary meal.

I shook Sam awake and asked her if she was hungry.

She mumbled something along the lines of, "Nothing with meat", then she crawled across me and stumbled toward the bathroom.

I looked the stewardess. "Can you give us about ten minutes to decide? I'm not sure what she wants."

She nodded, a smile on her face. "Not a problem. I'll bring you a menu."

"Thank you." I said.

After she left, I took my earbuds out of my ears and unplugged them from the bottom of my iPhone.

I shoved my earbuds into my pocket and I checked my phone for service.

Maybe I could make a quick call to Jazz.

The stewardess popped up beside me, with a menu in her hand. "Are you looking to make a phone call?"

I nodded.

"Ok, you'll need to step into the bathroom to make a call so you don't disturb other passengers." She said, giving me a bright smile.

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

She handed me the menu. "Do you know yet what you'd like to drink?"

"I'll have a white wine." I said, opening up the menu.

She batted her eyelashes as she wrote it down. "And for your sister?"

I chuckled.

"Actually." I heard Sam's voice behind her.

She squeezed past the stewardess and took my hand in hers. "I'm his fiancé."

I nodded and kissed her hand. "Two white wines, please."

Sam pulled my face closer to hers and kissed me.

I pulled away just in time to see the stewardess storming off.

"Sam..."

"What?" She asked, crossing her arms, her eyes narrowed.

I chuckled. "Nothing. I just never realized how cute you are when you're jealous."

She tried to continue glaring at me but after a few seconds, she broke and smiled.

"Sorry." She said. "I've said before that I can get a bit possessive."

"Yeah, I never realized that you came with your claws sharpened." I laughed. "I have to go make a phone call."

"To who?" She asked, then added. "Not to be nosy or anything.."

I laughed. "No, it's cool. I'm just calling Jazz to ask her if she'll pick us up at the airport when we land."

She smacked her forehead. "I can't believe we didn't schedule a taxi to pick us up."

"That's ok." I said. "I doubt there's a taxi service in Amity Park anymore."

"Probably not. But you're rich. You could pay somebody to drive to Amity Park just to pick us up." She said, grinning.

I stood, laughing. "I'm not that rich but that would be nice."

She laughed again.

"I'll be right back you goof." I shook my head, still chuckling.

"Ok." She replied, giggling.

I went into the bathroom, swinging the door shut behind me.

The last time Jazz and I spoke was about eight months ago.

At least it wouldn't be as awkward as if I was talking to my parents.

I dialed her number and leaned my back against the sink.

It rang about three times before a voice finally answered.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hey, Jazz. It's me." I said.

"Danny?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"This is your mom." She sounded like she was tearing up.

I swallowed. "Could I speak to Jazz?"

"Oh, Danny, it's so good to hear your voice." She said.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. "Mom. I need to speak to Jazz."

"She's in the shower at the moment, can I take a message for her?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "Tell her to call me back."

"Danny, I can pass on what you want to say." She said.

"Mom. Tell her to call me back." I repeated, then I hit end on the call before she could respond.

Hearing my mom's voice was harder than I thought.

I didn't know how I was going to face them tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

I took a moment to compose myself, then I exited the bathroom, headed back toward my seat.

"Hey." Sam said when I sat down.

She handed me a glass of wine and kissed my cheek. "How was the call?"

"She didn't answer." I said. I neglected to include the fact that my mom did.

"Oh yeah?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I left a message asking her to call me back."

At least that part was true.

She nodded. "Ok."

I settled back into my seat, sipping the wine.

She snuggled up next to me. "The stewardess will be back in a few minutes to take our order."

I lifted the menu with my other hand and scanned it's contents.

"I think I'll have the steak." I said.

"I seriously don't know you right now." Sam replied .

I laughed. "What are you getting ultra-recyclo-vegetarian?"

"I'm so getting the salad." She said.

"I bet if you tasted meat, you'd be a convert." I said.

She laughed. "I've had meat before. But I believe in putting down the practice of animal cruelty."

"Sam, it's the food chain. It's the way it's always been." I said.

"Maybe for you, but not for you."

The stewardess came back to write down our order.

She glared at Sam as she wrote down her salad.

Her expression changed when she asked me what I wanted.

"I'd like the steak please." I said, taking another sip of my wine and avoiding her eyes.

She left and I turned back to Sam.

She was staring after the stewardess.

"Don't do anything." I said.

She shrugged and turned around the right way in her seat. "She's not worth it anyway."

I laughed. "You're right."

She stared out the window and I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I love you." I said.

She turned toward me and kissed my lips. "I love you too."

I smiled as we parted.

Shortly after that, the stewardess brought us our food and we were left in peace.

I looked at Sam. "You sure you don't want a bite?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure. You enjoy it though, carnivore."

Twenty minutes later, we were done with our meal and it was only 1:30.

We still had another five hours left in our trip. Our destination time was six-thirty.

I grabbed a book out of my overhead luggage and settled into read it.

After two hours, I was finished with the book but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I promptly fell asleep and I only woke up once to use the restroom.

The next thing I knew, Sam was shaking me awake.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. We're almost there." She said, running her fingers through my hair.

I sat up. "I think I dozed off for a little while."

"Uh…a little while? Try almost three hours." She replied.

"Really?" I asked. "I must have been more tired than I realized."

"Yeah." She replied, smiling at me. "They asked if we'd like a complimentary bottle of water, so I said sure."

I nodded. "When did they ask that?"

"A few minutes ago. I wanted to let you sleep, but we were just told to put our seatbelts on." She said, buckling hers.

I shifted into a more comfortable position and I buckled mine as well.

"Yeah, the stewardess asked us if I wanted to get a pillow for you. I said no because I didn't want to disturb you." She said, giving me a smile.

"Wow, all of this happened while I was asleep and you didn't kill her?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. It was different stewardess."

"Oh, so that's why." I teased.

Sam laughed. "No, that's not why. Hey, our water's here."

I looked to my left and saw a new stewardess carrying two bottled waters.

"We couldn't get wine?" I asked, grinning at Sam.

"No! We'll look like alcoholics, Danny." She laughed,

"Or…" I started. "We'll look like two people who want to milk this ride for all the free stuff we can get."

She laughed. "Maybe."

The stewardess gave us our water and asked us how were enjoying our flight.

We said we were doing fine.

After she left, I pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time.

I had one missed call and a text message.

I set my glass of water down on a fold out tray on the back of the seat in front of me.

The text was from Jazz as well as the missed call.

"Oh yeah," Sam said. "Your phone rang, but I couldn't get it out of your pocket so I just tried to press the buttons to silence it."

The text message was asking why I was calling her.

I sent her a text back that said, "Sam and I were wondering if you could pick us up at the airport, we'll be there about six thirty."

"You're actually coming?" She responded.

"Yeah." I replied. "They did invite me right?"

A horrible sensation passed through me as I wondered if it was just a courtesy invite…

That feeling passed as I received another text message that said, "They did…but they didn't expect you to actually show up. Mind if I give them a heads up that you're on your way?"

I glanced at Sam and typed, "Sure, just don't let them pick us up. I'm still trying to figure out what to say when I see them. A car ride, at this point, would just be awkward."

"That's not a problem, Danny." She said.

Another text came through right after that one. "Is Sam a date or a friend?"

I smiled as I typed. "Date."

Sam looked over at me. "What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing." I replied and shook my head. "Just texting my sister."

"Is she picking us up?" She asked, taking a drink of water.

I nodded as I sent Jazz another text.

"Sam doesn't know what happened between us back then. Me and our parents, I mean. I need some time to figure out how to tell her. So don't mention it, ok? Please?" I asked.

I turned to Sam as I heard her start eating something.

She'd pulled some sort of chocolate bar from her purse and was eating it like it was the last food on earth.

I snickered as I watched her.

She turned to me. "What?"

"Nothing." I replied, shaking my head, still grinning.

The corners of her mouth turned up.

She held the bar out to me. "You hungry?"

I took a small bite but my stomach was unsettled at the thought of seeing my parents.

T-minus forty five minutes.

"You're not hungry?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "Not really."

She shrugged. "You're missing out."

"Maybe." I replied.


	7. Chapter 7

The plane screeched to a stop and I held my breath.

Jazz said that she would be at the airport at six forty-five.

It was now six ten.

My hands were shaking and my stomach was churning.

As I walked numbly down the stairs, Sam grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently.

I swallowed. My tongue felt huge in my mouth.

"Everything's going to be ok." She whispered.

We walked into the airport, went through security and got our luggage.

I sat down, my hand gripped tightly around the handle of my suitcase.

"You ok?" She asked, rubbing my back.

I shook my head. "No. This was a stupid idea. Why did I ever agree to do this?"

"Because you know that this is the right thing to do. And because you know that this is a step in the right direction." She said.

I let go of my suitcase and covered my face with my hands. "I can't do this, Sam."

"You can." She gently massaged my shoulders and kissed my neck. "You're strong, Danny Fenton."

"Not this strong." I replied.

"You are." She said, continuing to massage my shoulders.

I took several deep breaths.

"You can do this." She repeated in a whisper, then kissed my neck. "I love you."

I slowly released my breath. "Ok…"

A few minutes later, I saw my sister and her orange head of hair coming toward us.

I stood and Sam let go of my hand.

"Hi, Jazz." I said as she got close enough to us.

"Hi, Danny!" She exclaimed closing the distance between us in a run.

She pulled me into a hug. "Ooh, I've missed you little brother."

"I've missed you too." I mumbled, pulling away.

Jazz grinned at Sam and pulled her into a hug. "It's so good to see you guys!"

When my sister released her, Sam seemed kind of dazed.

I laughed.

"Sorry." Jazz chuckled. "I forgot that you're not a hug person."

Sam smiled. "It's ok…you just caught me by surprise."

Jazz reached down and grabbed my suitcase. "Let's go. My car's out front."

"You drove down here?" I asked.

She turned around to glance at me, walking backwards now. "Sort of...I'll explain in a little while."

I picked up Sam's suitcase and I took her hand with my free one.

After a few minutes of walking, we pushed open the exit doors and walked out into the chilly evening air.

The sun was just setting behind the clouds, and Sam was taking pictures with her digital camera.

"I can't believe you brought that thing." I whispered. "You do know that it's like three years old?"

She laughed and nudged me out of her way so she could take a better picture.

We'd teased each other like this before. She was a sucker for all of the old models of things and for the originals of almost everything.

I, on the other hand, didn't mind upgrading. As evidenced by the iPhone and the new electronics that were in my home.

Sam was still using her chunky old model of a Canon. She was used to taking pictures and developing them herself.

That had become one of her interests during college.

I even had a darkroom in my apartment for her, so she could continue developing her pictures after we got married.

Jazz grinned at us as she unlocked the trunk. "You guys are adorable."

I grabbed Sam's arms and tried dragging her away from the sunset.

"Hang on." She said, swatting my hands away. "You get the suitcases into the trunk. I'll be right there."

"Fine." I laughed, joining my sister at the back of the trunk.

"You didn't tell her yet did you?" She whispered.

I glanced at Jazz.

All traces of smile were gone from her now. In it's place was a glare that reminded me of my mom.

"Jazz, I'm trying ok? Can you help me get this in here?" I asked, struggling with the suitcase.

She sighed, pushed me away and rearranged it so it fit perfectly.

Jazz pushed her hair out of her eyes, and slammed the trunk.

"You have to tell her soon. Before our parents do." She said, her glare disappearing as she turned around to talk to Sam.

"Come on, there are plenty more things to take pictures of along the way." She called.

"Sorry." Sam laughed, jogging over to us.

My sister climbed into the driver's seat and asked us to sit in the back seat.

"The passenger seat is kind of damaged and near breaking." She explained.

I nodded and climbed into the back seat beside Sam.

Sam grinned. "This kind of reminds me of when Danny and I were kids and you would drive us to the movies."

Jazz laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember that. You two were so obvious in high school."

"After his freshman year." Sam said. "He insists that he liked me after but I know that he liked Paulina for a while."

"Oh yeah." Jazz looked at me in the rearview mirror as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Why were you into her again?"

"Can you focus on the road?" I asked.

She laughed. "Ok, keep your hair on little bro."

As she continued driving toward my childhood home, I looked out the window at the snow that was falling and at the trees that were streaking past.

"I don't remember you ever driving this fast when I was a kid." I said.

"Well, my college days kind of cured me of that." She said, laughing.

There was a momentary pause of silence.

"Speaking of your college days," She said. "I'm sorry that mom and dad didn't come to your graduation."

I shrugged and looked back out the window. "It's not a big deal, honest."

"It is." She replied.

I sighed.

Sam took my hand. "I'm sorry."

I took my hand from hers. "I said it wasn't a big deal."

"Danny." She replied. She was using her, 'please look at me' voice.

I resisted for a second, but in the end, I turned toward her.

Her gorgeous eyes were filled with nothing but concern.

"I love you." I said.

Her face softened. "I know. I love you too."

She rubbed my arm. "You ok? You're really tense."

The car pulled to a stop and I looked out the windshield as my heart pounded faster.

"Yeah." I said, my heart in my throat.

My parents were inside that house.

I slowly released Sam's hand and I opened the door. I was a mere footsteps away from them.

What would they think of me now? Was this all a big mistake?


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of Jazz's car, was the roof of my old house.

There was no longer an observatory, or as my parents called it, the emergency ops center.

The second thing I noticed, was a normal car sitting in the driveway.

The old Fenton RV/assault vehicle was nowhere in sight.

The flashing sign that used to say, 'Fenton Works' no longer hung from our roof.

I looked to Jazz.

"You coming?" She asked, as she pulled up open the door.

I slowly trudged up the stairs, with Sam following slowly behind me.

I heard the shutter on her camera clicking.

"Sam." I whispered, trying to get her attention away from her camera.

"I'm coming." She replied, taking another picture.

"Sam." I tried again as Jazz disappeared into the house.

She turned to look at me as she pressed the button to take a picture. "What?"

"Sam," I struggled to find the right words. "I need you as I walk in here. I can't do it by myself."

She instantly understood the struggle I was under and she shut her camera off, cramming it into her bag. "Ok, let's go."

She jogged up the remaining steps and took my hand.

"Whatever happens, remember that I love you." I whispered.

"Remember the same, Danny." She said.

My legs were wobbly as I stepped into the house.

If Sam hadn't been holding my hand, I might have passed out.

But feeling her smooth skin against my callused hands, kept me anchored here.

"Mom, dad, we're home!" Jazz called, dropping my suitcase onto the floor.

My heart jumped into my throat as I hear footsteps.

I saw my mom first. Her hair was waist-length now. Nothing like her old hairstyle when I graduated high school. The last time I'd seen her, her hair was really short.

Nothing compared to what it was now.

She was smiling when she walked in and her expression changed when she looked at me.

"Daniel?" She asked.

I nodded, unable to find my voice.

Maybe I looked a lot different to her as well.

Sam glanced at me, then took a few steps toward my mom, releasing my hand.

"Hi, Mrs. Fenton." She held her hand out for my mom to shake.

"Oh, Sam!" She said, giving her a genuine smile, shaking her hand. "It's so good to see you!"

I couldn't speak even if I wanted to.

As Sam took a few steps backward, she nudged me in my side.

I broke out of my trance, and glanced at my mom.

She gave me a smile that seemed guarded. Almost like she expected me to be angry with her.

So I did something that surprised even myself.

I took a few steps toward her and I pulled her into a hug.

"It's good to see you, mom." I said.

Her arms folded around me and she choked out a sob.

"Oh, Danny." She murmured.

I patted her back, then awkwardly pulled away.

She wiped tears from her eyes as she released me.

"Jack, get in here!" She called.

I heard a grunt as a response.

My mom sighed sadly.

"I'll get him." Jazz muttered, and exited the room, headed toward the kitchen.

I took Sam's hand again and squeezed it.

"Come on in." My mom said, gesturing toward the couch.

I grabbed Sam's suitcase and the two of us headed over to the couch.

As we passed by the dining room, I heard my father talking in a low, unhappy voice.

"How have you been, Danny?" My mom asked.

With everything that I had done, starting my own business in college, making millions, proposing to Sam…nothing came to me at the moment.

"Danny?" My mom asked again.

"Sorry." I shook my head. "I've been ok."

I glanced toward the kitchen. "How have you and dad been doing?"

She smiled. "We've been doing all right."

"What's going on with Fenton Works?" I asked, leaning forward.

Her smile slowly disappeared. "Danny, I can't tell you how sorry I am about0"

"Don't mention it mom." I cut her off.

Sam looked between the two of us.

"What's going on?" She asked.

My mom looked at her, then back at me. "You didn't tell her?"

I took Sam's hand. "Could you excuse us?"

My mom nodded. "Of course."

"Is my old room ok to talk in or are you guys using it for something else?" I asked.

"No, that's fine." She shook her head.

I exited the living room and walked up the stairs with Sam trailing behind me.

Sam closed my bedroom door after we walked inside.

"What's up?" She asked.

I glanced around. "My bedroom's exactly the same."

Sam looked around. "What?"

"When I left. This is exactly the way I left it." I replied.

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"Four years." I whispered.

"What?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. Sorry."

"Are you interested in telling me why you dragged me up here? Because I'll be honest, I'm about two seconds away from running back downstairs to beg your mom to feed me. I'm starving." She grinned.

I laughed, then I let out a breath.

"I just… I know that you want to hear what happened back then." I leaned against my dresser. "Between my parents and me."

She nodded.

"And I know that it would be better coming from me." I finished.

She sat down on my bed. "Ok. This looks more interesting than food, so continue."

I sighed. "The day after I graduated high school, I told my parents the truth. I told them that I was Danny Phantom."

She slowly nodded.

"At first, they thought I was joking. So I showed them. Everything that I could do. After while, they yelled at me, then at each other." I winced.

Sam stood up. "Keep going."

I swallowed. "They didn't want me to keep the powers. I tried to convince them that I could still be Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. I tried to tell them that they didn't have to see me any differently."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, taking a step toward me.

"They wouldn't hear it. Any of it." I sighed. "For a full twenty four hours, we fought constantly. Screaming and yelling. Eventually, after I'd begged them to see my side of things and they wouldn't, I packed up what I could grab and I stayed at Jazz's place for a little while."

Sam walked over to me and pulled me into her arms.

"I'm sorry."

"Before I left." I mumbled. "My father told me that I wasn't his son anymore."

Sam gasped and pulled away. "He didn't."

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Unfortunately, he did."

"I'm so sorry, Danny." She said, pressing her forehead to mine. "I'm sorry."

I pushed her away and paced over to my window. "Now you know why I never wanted to see them. They disowned me five years ago."


	9. Chapter 9

"Wait a second." Sam said. "You haven't seen them in four years. At least, that's what you've always told me."

"Yeah." I nodded, staring out the window.

"But all of this went down about five years ago." She said.

"Yeah. In the summer after my freshman year of college, they came to see me." I said.

"And…?" She asked.

"I wouldn't talk to them." I said. "I was still too angry. At that point, it had only been a year."

"No wonder you moved to New York." She murmured.

"Yeah. I had to get away." I said, turning around to face her.

"Does your sister know what happened?" I asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I told her right after."

Sam walked a few steps and took my hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed for this."

I shook my head. "No, don't worry about it. I needed to see them. It's been too long."

Sam kissed my hand. "Are you ready to go back downstairs?"

I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "Let's go."

"We don't have to." She said. "We could probably stay up here until dinner. Although to be honest, I would starve before then."

I laughed. "No, I'm all right. Just pretend that I didn't tell you all of that ok? Just pretend that I called you up here to have a hot make-out session."

"Here? In your old room? Why Danny, I thought you'd never ask." She batted her eyelashes playfully.

I smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a kiss.

She pushed against me until I backed up against the window.

"Sam, if we break this window, we'll never hear the end of it." I laughed. "And I'll probably need surgery."

She laughed. "But blood looks so sexy on you."

Her lips met mine again.

A knock sounded on the door and we sprang apart.

The door opened and Jazz stuck her head through.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt what I'm sure was about to be a very intense make out session, but dad's downstairs and he wanted to see you." She gave me a smile and closed the door.

I would have laughed at her comment about Sam and I but my stomach was churning at the thought of seeing my dad.

"You ok?" Sam said, her hand on my chest.

"Not really." I replied, then head for the door.

I stopped when I realized that Sam wasn't following.

"I'm coming." She said, walking toward me.

I held out my hand and she took it.

"Thank you." I said.

I opened the door and we made our way downstairs. I saw my dad before he saw me.

He had gotten pretty skinny and his hair was almost all gray.

I glanced at Sam. She had a shocked look on her face that I'm almost positive matched mine.

We descended the rest of the staircase.

He turned toward me and his expression darkened.

"Danny." He said.

"Hi." I replied, walking stiffly toward him.

When I reached him, I held out my to shake. I couldn't bring myself to hug him like I did with my mom.

He obviously wasn't happy with me. I don't know why either. It wasn't like he was the one who was burned with poisonous liquid.

No, that would be. I was the one who was burned.

"How have you been?" He asked.

I shrugged, my eyes never leaving his. "Fine. How are you and mom?"

"Fine." He replied.

A dead silence fell around the room.

Sam broke it by re-introducing herself to my father. "Hi, Mr. Fenton. You remember me, right?"

My father's gaze flicked to her. "Sam. Of course I do."

He glanced back and I looked at Sam.

Silently thanking her for breaking the tension in the air.

She smiled and took my hand again.

I saw my sister nudge my mom.

"Oh." My mom said, then turned to me, smiling.

"We're having a small get-together in a few days. We've actually invited one of your old high school classmates over for dinner tonight." She said.

"We did that before we knew that you were coming." Jazz added.

My mom nodded.

I forced my face into what I assumed was a smile. "Great, who is it?"

"You remember Tucker right?" Jazz asked.

"Do I ever." I forced a laugh. "That's cool, I didn't realize he was back in town."

My mom opened her mouth but Jazz just nodded and talked over her. "Yeah."

I glanced between the two of them.

"Well, good." My mom said. "I'm making pot roast for dinner."

"That sounds delicious, Mrs. Fenton. Would you like some help?" Sam asked.

"That would be wonderful." My mom beamed.

She exited the living room and I pulled Sam closer to me.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Being polite." She whispered back.

I glanced at my father and my sister.

Swiftly, I put my arm around Sam and we casually walked a few feet away.

"You can't leave me alone with him. I don't know what to say." I told her.

"Danny, you'll be ok. I love you." She leaned forward for a kiss.

I pushed her away. "Sam, I'm serious."

"Ok." She took my hand. "I'll tell your mom that I'm going to unpack first, and then you can stay upstairs. How's that?"

"I'm not going to hide." I replied.

"Then don't." She said, pulling me closer.

I understood what she was saying. If Sam was with me every step of the way, I wouldn't know how to react without her there.

In a way, I was hiding as long as she was there with me. If I let her hold my hand throughout this, I wouldn't be able to face my parents alone.

As it was, she'd already saved my butt twice with them.

I slowly released a breath. "I get it."

She leaned forward and our lips met.

"I love you." I whispered against her lips.

"Umm…Danny?" Jazz called.

I turned toward her, my lips leaving Sam's.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to see the house. You know, how it's changed." She said.

"Sure." I replied, squeezing Sam's hand.

I walked over to my sister, avoiding my father's glare.

"Where do you want to start?" She asked.

My father started for the upstairs.

"The lab." I said, which was in the opposite direction.

For right now, I felt more comfortable staying away from him.

Which was weird, he was my father.

I shook that feeling off and started for the stairs.

"Umm…Danny?" Jazz called, following close behind me.

"How many ghosts have bothered you guys since I left?" I asked.

"Umm, Danny.." She tried again.

Something was nagging at me. Telling me to stop.

But as soon as I did, I saw the blank wall right in front of me.

The wall where the Fenton portal used to be.


	10. Chapter 10

I turned to Jazz. "Wh-what? What is this?"

"I was going to tell you." She sighed and sank down onto the bottom step.

I looked back at the empty wall.

"After they came home from trying to see you after your first year of college, they renounced ghost hunting. Ever since then, they've lived a normal life." She said.

"Jack Fenton lived a normal life without ghosts?" I asked, turning around.

She shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"This is all my fault." I said.

"No, Danny, it's not." She replied. "They were bound to find out about your ghost half sometime. Besides, it was probably better coming from you."

I swallowed and stared at the blank wall.

"Before they closed the portal, did you guys have trouble with ghosts?" I asked.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it trouble…more like-"

"Jazz." I turned around to look at her. "After I left, did you guys have trouble with ghosts?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It got really bad for a while and they contemplated closing the portal for good."

"Was that before or after they came to visit me?" I asked.

"Before." She said. "They came to visit you to tell you that they were sorry. And they wanted you to know that you were still their son."

"But obviously not anymore." I said.

"No, Danny." She stood up. "You're still their son."

"Sure. Somebody might want to tell them that." I replied.

"They wanted you to come that summer." She snapped. "But you wouldn't even talk to them."

"They tried to kill me!" I shouted.

"They were panicking!" She yelled back.

"_They _were panicking? What do you think I was doing? When I woke up in the lab and they were talking about how to remove the other half of myself?" I demanded.

"You know that they never would have." She replied.

"Yeah, they would have." I said, crossing my arms.

"Danny, they have regretted what they did and what they said every single day since you left." She said.

"Really? Have they? Jazz, I didn't even tell _you _the full story of what went down between us."

"Then enlighten me." She replied, crossing her arms as well.

"Forget it. I wouldn't tell you now because you're already convinced that I'm the bad guy." I said.

"I am not." She scoffed.

"So you're saying that you can listen to my side of things and not tell me that I should consider it from their point of view?" I demanded.

"Danny, why are you getting so defensive?" She asked. "You know that I've always been on your side during arguments with our parents. I'm just saying that ever since you left, I saw them miss you every day. Especially around holidays."

"Yeah? Well they could have showed it. How do you think I was, Jazz? I was all by myself out there. I couldn't call up you or our parents to get advice." I replied. "I even had to create a business in the middle of my second year of college, just so I had a way to get through the rest of school."

"What?" She asked.

"Our parents didn't put the rest of my college tuition money into my bank account." I said. "Doesn't really seem like they were sad then. Seemed to me like they were pretty angry."

"Danny, they were going to transfer the money over. I'm almost positive that they did." She said.

"Did they? Cause I didn't see any of it." I replied, crossing my arms.

"Danny, see this is what I mean. You get so defensive that you won't even consider the other side of things." She said.

"Jazz, that right there is what I meant. About you trying to convince me to see their side of things." I said.

"Well you're so focused on making sure that I see them as the bad guys." She replied.

"See them? Jazz, in this situation, they are the bad guys." I replied.

"You know what? Whatever. You can think whatever the hell you want to about our parents." She said. "But you haven't lived with them these past few years."

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't. That's because I was afraid that they were going to kill me in my sleep!" I yelled.

"You're so dramatic. You know that mom and dad wouldn't kill you." She said.

"Jazz, what did they talk about our entire childhood? Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts." I replied. "They wanted to capture one so they could rip it apart molecule by molecule."

"Danny-"

"But lucky for them, they had one living under their roof that they could dissect. Thanks but no, thanks, sis. I'm not a frog." I said.

"You're so hypersensitive of this situation. All I'm saying is that if you tried to see their attempts as anything other than trying to kill you, you might find that they-"

"What? Really do care for me? Jazz, they cared about the human part of who I am. But that's only half of who I am." I said. "The ghost half of me is part of me as well."

She sighed. "I know that. And they know that too."

"Now. They know that now." I replied, narrowing my eyes. "Now's a little late, Jazz."

"Then why did you come back?" She demanded. "If you weren't interested in patching things up, why did you come at all?"

"Because." I replied. There was no way that I was bringing Sam into this.

As my girlfriend and fiancé, it was my job to protect her. Including from my family.

Jazz shook her head. "You know what? I don't even care anymore, Danny. You can hate our parents till hell freezes over."

I thought about replying with something snarky, something like, "That's good because I will."

But I decided that maybe she was right.

Maybe enough was enough.

I heard a scream coming from the kitchen and it sounded like it was Sam.

Without a moment's hesitation, I dashed up the stairs, headed for the kitchen.


	11. Chapter 11

Without a moment's hesitation, I dashed up the stairs, headed toward the kitchen area.

When I got into the kitchen, I had to push past my father and my sister to get to my fiancé.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, crouching down on the floor beside her.

She had her head pressed to the floor, groaning.

"Sam." I shook her.

She didn't respond.

I carefully picked her up and laid her head in my lap.

As soon as I did, I immediately saw what was wrong.

There was a deep gash on the side of her forehead.

"Oh my god." I gasped, glancing up at my mom. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I had my back to her. I had just warned her about the stove being hot, and I heard her scream." She said.

I looked back down at my beautiful fiancé. "Sam, baby, can you hear me?"

She gave a nod, then winced. "Yeah."

"Ok. Can you open your eyes?" I asked, cradling her head.

She squinted up at me.

"Hey." I said, examing the gash on her temple. "What happened?"

"I slipped on some water." She said. "And I hit my head on the stove."

"Jeez." I replied. "You hit it pretty hard."

"Do you think it needs stitches?" My mom asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know yet."

"Sam?" I asked her.

"Yeah?" She asked, opening her eyes again.

"I'm going to move you to the couch ok?" I asked.

"Dude, I can so stand by myself." She replied.

"Really?" I asked.

She sighed. "Ok, not really. I'll probably stagger. But that's only because I was knocked off balance and I need a few minutes to regain it.

I laughed nervously. Her witty banter was back so I suspected that she would be ok.

I lifted her carefully.

"I need to get by." I said, keeping my eyes on Sam so I didn't have to look at my family members.

"Hey, if you ever repeat the fact that I screamed, I will pinch you." Sam said.

I laughed again. "Ok." I carried her over to the couch and gently set her down.

"See? Aren't you glad that you work out?" Sam asked.

"What? So I could lift you?" I asked.

"Exactly." She replied, grinning.

"Jazz, is there a first aid kit here?" I asked.

"Yeah, let me go get it." She said.

After she exited the room, I looked into Sam's eyes.

"You scared the hell out of me." I told her.

"Well I have to keep you on your toes." She replied, grinning.

"Sam." I said.

She sighed and her grin faded into a small smile. "I'm sorry."

I took her hand and pressed it against my chest. "Seriously, feel that."

"Wow." She said, feeling how fast my heart was pounding.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." I told her.

"If I must, I shall stay out of harms way." She said.

I chuckled.

"Here, I got it." Jazz said, holding out the first aid kit to me.

"Thank you." I replied.

I turned back to Sam, examining the cut.

"It doesn't look that bad." I said. "I doubt that you'll need stitches."

"Great. So all of this fuss was for nothing." She replied.

"Sam, you hit your head. That's not fussing for nothing." I said.

She rolled her eyes, then winced. "Whatever."

I tore open an alcohol wipe and gently dabbed at the cut skin.

By now, my parents had gone back into the kitchen and I could hear them whispering.

But I did my best to ignore them.

"Ow, that hurts." Sam said.

"Sorry." I replied, giving her a sheepish grin.

She smiled as I cleaned the cut and put a gauze pad over it.

"That hurt." She said when I announced that I was done.

"Well you took it very bravely." I said, laughing.

"Do I get a sticker?" She asked, grinning.

"Well, I'm all out of stickers…but will a kiss too?" I asked, leaning toward her.

She shrugged. "Ok, but I really wanted a sticker."

I laughed as our lips met.

She pulled me forward, her arms wrapping around my neck.

I heard the sound of somebody clearing their throat and the two of us broke apart.

I turned around and saw my father standing at the entry way into the living room, his arms crossed.

He was staring at us with a disapproving look on his face. When had he ever approved of me.

Sam slid her arms off of me and I stood up. "What?"

"Your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner was almost ready." He said. "She also wanted to know how Sam was doing."

"Tell her that I'll be there in a minute and that Sam is going to be ok." I replied.

He muttered something that I didn't catch, then headed back toward the kitchen.

I glared at his retreating figure.

"Danny." Sam called.

I turned around. "What?"

She shook her head. "Just…try to let it go ok?"

"Sam." My mom called.

Within a second, she appeared at the entry way to the living room where my father had stood moments ago.

She was wiping her hands on a towel.

"You're still a vegetarian, right?" She asked.

Sam nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. I made a separate veggie roast for you." She said.

"Aw, thank you, Mrs. Fenton." She said.

After she left, I looked at Sam.

"She doesn't seem like she doesn't like you." She said.

"My dad on the other hand…" I trailed off.

"Probably doesn't know how to react with us showing up out of the blue." She said.

"What?" I demanded. "You're the one who said that they were expecting us."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that he was completely prepared for us to show up." She said. "Danny, he hasn't seen you in four years."

"So? I haven't seen either of my parents in four years but you don't see me acting like a frigging robot." I snapped.

"Danny." She said, giving me a look.

I sighed.

"And anyway, you're not your father." She said.

"Who my father is-or was-shouldn't define who I am." I said.

"And it doesn't." She said.

"But it does." I replied, giving another sigh.

"No, it doesn't, Danny." She said.

I turned to her. "Yes it does. If my father never hunted ghosts for a career, he never would have created the Fenton Portal. If he never created the Fenton Portal, I would never would have gotten ghost powers."

"Danny, that's a whole lot of 'if's'." She said.

"But it's true. All of it." I replied.

"Maybe so. But now you have the ghost powers. And now your parents know about it. So what are you going to do about it?" She asked me.

Honestly, I had no idea.

But I figured that I better come up with something pretty soon. Because I couldn't keep holding my parents responsible for the way that I turned out.

They raised me the best they knew how. It wasn't their fault that I became a ghost hybrid.

What was their fault, was their reaction to this news. They didn't have to make me feel like I was some sort of freak, or tell me that I was no longer their son.

That, I'm pretty sure I would carry around with me for the rest of my life…


	12. Chapter 12

After I talked with Sam for a little while, my mom said that it was time for dinner.

"I'm going to go upstairs and wash up." Sam said, giving me the eye which meant 'Follow me, please.'

So I got up and I followed her upstairs under the pretense of taking the suitcases up.

When we got into my old bedroom, I sat the suitcases down on the floor.

"What is it?" I asked her.

Before I had fully turned around, she had launched herself at me, dragging me into a hug and kissing my neck.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Hey, Sam, calm down." I said, pushing her away.

"Danny, I'm so sorry. We never should have come here." She whispered against the skin of my neck.

"Sam, what's going on?" I asked.

"I saw the way you and your father acted around each other. It was such a stupid idea for us to come here." She said. "It's obvious that neither one of you are ready to forgive each other."

"Sam." I said, pulling away so I could look into her eyes.

Tears glistened in them.

"Danny, I never meant to make this harder on you. Had I known then the reason behind your refusal to speak with them… I never would have pushed for this, I swear." She said, pulling me closer to her.

"Sam, calm down. I love you ok? It's ok." I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry." She said. "I just kept thinking about how I didn't get to see my dad anymore. I thought that your fight had really been about college and I couldn't understand why you were being selfish."

"Sam." I said.

She shook her head. "No, I shouldn't have been so pushy. I forced you to come here, Danny. You know it and I know it."

"Sam, I love you ok? If I didn't want to come, I could have told you the truth back in New York." I said, pulling her over to the bed.

I sat down, holding her tightly in my arms. "It's ok."

"It's not ok." She said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Hey, yes it is." I said, kissing her forehead, being careful around the area of the cut.

She let out a sigh. "I really am sorry."

"I know." I said, drawing her into my arms and giving her a smile.

"Like I said, if I had wanted to stay in New York, I could have told you there what happened between me and my parents. Instead, I chose to wait until we were in Michigan to say a word."

"Well, true." She said.

"Of course it's true." I said. "Are you all right now?"

She gave me a teary smile as she wiped tears from her face. "Yeah. I don't know what came over me."

"I told you, it's ok." I replied, giving her a hug.

After her father died, I had to actually help her grieve. She told me that grieving or crying of any sort was a sign of weakness.

I guess that she'd either grown up that way or one decided that she had to be tough.

Either way, she wasn't allowing herself time to heal from her father's death.

It was like pulling teeth to get her to talk about it. We had only bumped into each other about a month prior to her father's death.

So for the six months after, I was just her friend. She would call me in the middle of the night to talk or beg me to come over.

Sometimes I would come over and just hold her, while she told me stories about her father.

She really had to lean on me and I think that's why we're so close.

Back in high school, she never would have let herself need anyone like that.

She was always the girl who got by on her own and the person she was after her father died, wasn't the same.

But I think that after everything we'd been through together, she finally understood that when it came to our relationship, I was in it for the long haul.

I think that after a year and a half of dating, she realized that I would do anything for her.

She once told me, before we were even dating, that I was kinder and more respectful of her than her ex-boyfriends ever were.

In my opinion, she was a beautiful woman who deserved respect.

Within a few minutes she had composed herself and we headed downstairs for dinner.

I held her hand as we descended the staircase.

"You're sure you're ok?" I asked Sam as we walked into the dining room.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."

"Hey, I told you, it's ok." I replied.

I gave her hand a squeeze, then released it so I could pull out a chair for her.

"Thank you." She said as I sat down in the chair beside her.

"You feeling ok, Sam?" My mom asked, placing a bowl of potatoes on the table.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Sam replied, giving her a smile.

My father walked in and after eyeing me for a second, he chose the chair at the head of the table.

The one furthest from me.

Well, I had come here with the intention of making amends with both of my parents.

But it quickly became obvious that that would only be possible with _one _of my parents.

It's not hard to guess which one.

"Danny, you're still a meat-eater right?" My mom asked, placing another bowl on the table.

This one looked like it contained the pot roast.

"Yes, I do." I said.

"Ok, I was making sure that Sam hadn't made you a convert." My mom said.

I laughed. "No, I'm still a 'carnivore' in her eyes."

Sam gave me a playful shove when I put air quotes around the word carnivore.

I heard the doorbell ring and Jazz stood up. "I'll get it."

"You think that's Tucker?" I asked her, as she dissapperead out of sight.

"Umm…maybe." She replied.

Sam pulled on my arm. "You know what? I think that you would make a great vegetarian."

"Really?" I asked. "And you believe that I could get over the fact that I love meat?"

She nodded, smiling. "You're brave, you could do it."

I laughed and shook my head. "No, thank you."

She sighed and I heard my mom whisper something to my dad.

When I looked up, my mom was glaring at my dad and he was glaring back.

Before I could ask what was going on, I heard the sound of Tucker's voice so I turned around in my chair to see him.

As soon as he walked in, I could tell that he wasn't the same Tucker I knew in high school.

He had a scraggly beard and he was using a cane to get around.

As soon as he caught sight of me, his smile faltered.

"D-Danny…" He said, seemingly out of breath.

I thought his reaction was a little weird but I considered the fact that maybe he didn't like me seeing him like this.

Whatever he had been through had really taken its toll on him.

So I blew off his reaction as nothing.

Nothing until my sister reached down and took his hand.

"You guys remember Tucker, my boyfriend." She said.

I don't think my jaw has ever dropped so fast.


	13. Chapter 13

"Tucker?" I asked. "You're dating, Tucker?"

Sam seemed just as shocked as I was, but she recovered faster.

She stood up and gave Tucker a one-armed hug. "It's good to see you, Tucker."

He gave her a smile. "It's good to see you too, Sam. You're with Danny now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, we've been dating for a year and a half."

Jazz shot me death glares as Tucker and Sam exchanged words.

"Sorry." I mouthed, then stood up to give Tucker a hug too.

"It's good to see you, man." I said.

"I should have warned you." Tucker said. "Jazz didn't tell me that you guys were here."

It was hard to avoid glancing at the cane a couple of times.

I just couldn't understand how my best friend went from perfectly fine to seemingly crippled.

He cleared his throat and glanced down at the cane. "You're wondering, huh?"

I swallowed and shook my head. "No, I'm all right."

"Sit down, I'll tell you the story." He said, hobbling over to the nearest chair.

Jazz pulled it out for him.

My mom began serving dinner as Tucker sat down.

"This smells delicious, Mrs. Fenton." He said, nudging Sam. "I see she made you the veggie roast."

"Hey, you don't know if that's for me. Danny could have become a vegetarian." Sam replied.

Tucker glanced at me, then started laughing. "Right, Danny a vegetarian."

As soon as my mom finished putting food on everyone's plate, Tucker looked down at his leg and heaved a huge sigh.

"Ok, you want to know what happened?" He asked.

"Tucker, you don't have to tell us." Sam said, putting a hand on his arm.

He looked up at us. "Yeah, I do. It's all right." He cleared his throat, and leaned further back in his chair.

"About four years ago, I was on vacation from school, visiting my parents. And I had been told that ghosts were running rampant through the streets of my old home. They told me not to come home, that it was too dangerous." He said, giving me a sideways glance.

He didn't know that I told my parents what I was.

I took a bite of my pot roast, unable to avoid his eyes.

"I did anyway, because I knew that my parents sometimes overreacted. And umm…well," He cleared his throat and looked at Jazz.

After a second, he looked back at Sam and me.

"They attacked my house. Killed my parents, tried to kill me." He said, shaking his head. "When they didn't succeed in killing me, they brought the house down, crushing me. Leaving me trapped inside."

"About three days later, police and rescue force pulled me out. There had been thousands of others injured by these ghosts. So rescue was slower than normal." Tucker said, pausing for a second to take a sip of water. "I couldn't move my legs at all. I was certain that I was going to be paralyzed for life."

I had stopped chewing and was staring at my high school best friend.

"But, uh, the surgeon who had saved my life had told me that physical therapy would do wonderful things for me. He said that there was a good chance that I would be able to walk again." Tucker shook his head. "I didn't believe him, but I went. For a year, I did physically therapy, faithfully. I did all of the at-home exercises they told me to do, I was never late to any of the appointments. Not one."

He stopped and stared down at his leg. "But after a year of trying to walk, I could still only take baby steps."

He looked to Jazz again.

"So I gave up." He looked back at us. "For about six months, I sat at home and Jazz took care of me."

"She would help get into my wheelchair and she would go to the store for me, helped me handle all of the hospital bills and electric bills and stuff like that. And that went on for about six months." He gave her a smile and she smiled back, reaching over to take his hand.

"And then she started pushing me, telling me that I needed to try physical therapy again. That if I just did it long enough and if I just did it hard enough, that I would regain the ability to walk." He said. "And she didn't let up. Danny, I know that you know how persistent your sister can be."

I nodded, unable to speak.

"So, I did. But I went for the wrong reason. You see, I had gotten sick of listening to Jazz, so I would go just to shut her up. But as soon as she would leave the building, I would wheel myself down into the cafeteria, or into the other parts of the building. I would never actually go to the appointment." He said. "And then one day, Jazz listened to the messages on my answering machine before I had a chance to delete them."

Jazz spoke up now. "The message that I heard was one from the physical therapy office. They mentioned that Tucker hadn't been showing up to his previous appointments and that he should only call and make appointments if he was actually willing to come to them."

"We had a huge argument about that, which ended in her storming out." Tucker said. "And for two weeks, I sat at home, thinking about how badly I had screwed up."

"I had decided that I didn't want to waste my time anymore on somebody who didn't even try." Jazz said. "It's one thing if you can't change some aspect about yourself. But all Tucker did was sit home and brood about the fact that he couldn't walk. If he really couldn't walk, that would be one thing and he would have had to get therapy or something for the way he felt. But he could walk, he just had to try." Jazz said.

"So anyway, I wheeled myself out of the apartment I was staying in and I went to her place." He said.

"And he threw rock after rock after rock at my window, screaming my name. All of that." Jazz said.

"And she wasn't even home." Tucker said.

Sam laughed. "Where was she?"

Tucker glanced at Jazz. "I don't even really remember. Where were you again?"

"I was over at his place, looking for him. I was there to tell him that I was sorry about the way that we had ended things." She replied. "I wanted to tell him that I still cared about him, but that I needed him to try. Because it was obvious how badly he missed being able to walk."

"So for about two hours, I waited outside Jazz's apartment, waiting for her to come home." Tucker said. "And when she finally did come home, we made up we've been together ever since."

"So, you went back to physical therapy?" Sam asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, after that, I made regular appointments and Jazz made me go regardless of how hard it was, or how little improvement I was showing."

"Why? Wasn't there a possibility that you wouldn't have been able to walk?" I asked.

"Yeah, there was a possibility of that, but every week, the doctor told us that my legs were responding. That they were showing signs of strengthening." He said. "So for three years, I've been going and the recovery has been a lot slower than it would have been if I hadn't given up after that first year."

"But you and I might not have started dating." Jazz said, taking his hand again.

He smiled at her. "Right, we wouldn't have."

Part of me, was glad that Tucker didn't have to go through that struggle alone.

And part of me felt like the reason he went through that at all, was because I wasn't here.

And the final part of me, was totally disgusted by the fact that my old high school best friend was dating my sister.


	14. Chapter 14

"Anyway," Tucker concluded. "What have you done since high school?"

I glanced at my parents and decided not to mention the fact that they disowned me.

Instead, I started in on college.

"Umm, in my second year of college, I started a small business and it grew overnight. So in the middle of a semester, I changed my major to a business one. My professors were happy about that." I said.

Tucker laughed. "I can imagine."

"So what's with the beard?" Sam asked.

He laughed. "Nothing. I just haven't shaved in a while."

"Yeah, when you walked into view, that's what got my attention. Not the cane or even the goofy way you stared at Jazz." She said.

I could tell that Tucker was embarrassed and Jazz's face colored.

"So after college?" Tucker asked, turning back toward me.

"Well, in the final year of college, I met back up with Sam." I said. "And it was right before-"

"Right before we started dating." Sam interrupted, sending me a look.

"Yeah." I added lamely. "Right before we started dating."

Tucker looked between the two of us, a funny look on his face.

"And, after my final year, I plunged completely into my business and I've seen the way it's grown in the last year and a half." I said.

"Yeah?" He asked.

I nodded.

The room fell silent, so I looked down at my plate.

"What have you been doing, Jazz?" Sam asked. "Since college?"

"Well, I was in my second year of college when you guys graduated high school." She said.

"I remember." Sam said.

"So after Danny graduated high school, the two years following that were spent at college finishing up school." She said. "I was studying to become a brain surgeon, but mid-way through my second semester, I changed my major apparently like my little brother did as well." She gave me a smile.

I nodded at her.

"I changed my major to psychology, so I could become a therapist." She said.

Oddly, that brought Spectra to my mind.

I shook my head, clearing that thought. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "And seeing as how, changing my major like that, forced me to catch up, I took a double year for my junior year. And I took a double for my senior year as well."

"Wow, I always knew you had the brains in the family." I said.

She laughed.

"Anyway, I've just now completed my first semester of my third year trying to obtain my master's degree." Jazz said. "And once I complete the fourth year, I'll be available to start my own private counseling practice."

"Why start your own?" Sam asked, taking another bite of her veggie roast. "Why not go to a practice that's already in business?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just figured that I would start my own. If I don't have the startup funds or if I can't do it right away, then I'll work from somebody else's practice. Having my own practice isn't do or die."

"So, Sam, what have you done since you graduated high school?" Tucker asked, turning to her and taking a bite out of his pot roast.

She took a drink from her water glass.

"Yeah…" She said, giving a soft sigh. "I actually dropped out of college during my third year."

His eyebrows went up. "Really? I figured that Danny would have dropped out before you."

To be honest, if I hadn't been trying so hard to prove that I could make it on my own, I probably would have dropped out.

"No, Danny stuck with it." Sam said, turning to smile at me.

She turned back to Tucker. "I, on the other hand, gave up. And I started working at a record label so I could help true musical artists be heard."

"And where is this label?" Tucker asked.

"New York." She replied.

"Yeah, she had a choice between the one in California or the one in New York. She went with the latter because it's where I live." I winked at her and she smiled.

My parents looked at me.

It hit me then, that they didn't know where I was living.

"So, why did you decide start a business in college?" Tucker asked, looking at me this time.

I didn't want to say that my parents didn't give me the rest of the tuition money, so I settled for. "I figured up my money and realized that I wasn't going to be able to pay tuition for the last two years of my college, so I knew that I needed to do something."

My mom's eyebrows drew down. "What?"

I shrugged. "It's not a big deal. The money ran out faster than I anticipated."

"It happens." My father said.

Those were the first words he'd said to me- or more accurately –at me since we'd sat down.

"Yeah, it does." I said.

"But that doesn't make sense. Danny, we wired you the remainder of your college fund at the beginning of your second year." She said.

"What?" I asked, not really believing her. "You sure that's not Jazz's money you're thinking about?"

She shook her head. "I'm positive, Danny. I reminded your father about it five times."

I looked at my father.

His face was hard as he stared back at me.

Slowly, his mouth opened. "Maybe it didn't go through."

My mom turned toward him. "Jack, you wired him the money, right?"

"Of course I did, Maddie. You reminded me to do it five times." He replied.

I let out a disbelieving noise.

He turned toward me.

"What? You don't believe me?" He demanded.

"Actually, no, I don't." I replied. "I think you didn't wire me the remaining money on purpose because you were still pissed that I'd turned you away."

His eyebrows drew down angrily as he stood up. "What did you say to me?"

I rose to my feet as well. I had gained an inch on my father and I used that to my advantage.

"I said that you didn't wire me the money on purpose because you were still pissed that I'd turned you away." I repeated.

He jumped toward me and I barely had time to react before his fist met my nose.


	15. Chapter 15

As soon as his fist connected with my nose, I swung back, popping him in the eye.

He recovered slower, which gave me the time to go into a fighting stance.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.

I heard my mother scream, just as my father started toward me again.

All those years of fighting ghosts had strengthened me.

I slammed my fists twice into his gut, knocking him backwards again.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Jazz yelled.

I waited for my father to attack again, not wanting this to end the way it was going.

Sam jumped in between us, facing me.

My mom did the same, facing my father.

I was staring over Sam's head, my breathing ragged, my eyes focused on him.

"Hey, look at me." Sam put her hands on my face and pulled my eyes level to hers. "Listen to me."

I met her gaze.

"Just let it go." She instructed. "Let it go."

I let out a low breath.

I could hear my mother trying to get my father to calm down.

So I did what no one suspected I would do.

I turned on my heel and I exited the dining room.

When I reached the front door, I swung it open and stepped out into the chilly late night air.

"Danny!" I heard my mother call.

I didn't respond, watching my breath swirl in front of my face.

My mother appeared at the door. "Danny, come back inside."

"I need some time alone." I said.

"Danny, it's freezing out here. Just come back inside-"

"I said I need some time alone!" I snaped, whirling around to face her.

Her lip quivered and after a second, she disappeared.

I sighed and turned back around.

Since I had moved out, at some point, they'd built a side porch. Leading off from the steps.

I walked over to it and rested my arms on the railing.

There was movement behind me and I turned around to tell my mom that I needed some more time, but she wasn't the one standing there.

The one standing there, was Tucker.

And he was slowly hobbling over to me.

"So." He said, when he reached me. "How you doing?"

I gave him a look and he laughed. "Sorry."

He let out a sigh and stared off into the distance for a minute before turning to me again.

"What your dad did, holding the money from you, was wrong."

"Let me guess, but I shouldn't have punched him." I replied, glaring back out into the blackness.

"No, you were right to punch him. Especially because he struck first." He replied.

I turned to him. "Really?"

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, really."

I swallowed and looked back out into the darkness. "Huh."

"Sam wanted to come out here but I suggested that I do it." He said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because, for one thing, I knew that I what I had to say wasn't going to piss you off." He said.

I didn't respond.

"Danny, you need to understand something. Your parents have been struggling ever since you left. I didn't see it as much in the beginning because I was a little preoccupied with my own problems." He gave a chuckle but I didn't share it.

He sighed. "What I'm trying to say is this, your parents do miss you. Just in separate ways."

I sighed.

"None of that makes what they did right. But they have regretted what they did. I can promise you that." He said.

"What do you mean, regret what they did?" I asked.

"I know Danny. I know all about you telling your parents about your ghost half and them rejecting you. Jazz told me all about it." He said.

"Did she tell you the part about them trying to kill me?" I asked, waiting to hear his reaction.

To see if he had been completely brainwashed to only see my parents as good people.

"No, she didn't. What happened?" He asked.

He sounded skeptical but he was open to it if was the truth.

"I was just testing you." I said, sighing.

"For what?" he asked.

"To see if you'd been completely brainwashed so you'd only see my parents as good people." I replied.

"Danny, in any argument, I will always take your side if you're right." He said. "Your parents have done a lot for me, and so has Jazz. But you're my best friend. I'll take your side in an argument against your folks."

"And what about an argument between me and Jazz?" I asked, looking at him.

He didn't respond.

"Tucker?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's where it kind of becomes a gray area. I don't have any siblings so I don't know what goes on during fights between them." He said. "Plus Jazz is my girlfriend."

I gave a sigh.

"Not to mention, she literally saved my life." He added.

"I know." I said. "I was paying attention to the story."

"Danny, all I'm saying is that this thing with your parents doesn't have to be tackled all in one visit. What they did to isn't going to be erased from your memory overnight." He said. "It's going to take years to rebuild that trust."

"I wish I didn't have to rebuild that trust." I replied.

"You know what I wish, Danny?" He asked, fixing me with a glare.

"What?" I asked, turning toward him.

"I wish that my parents hadn't died and I wish that I could walk normally." He said. "We don't always get what we wish for. At least you have a family to rebuild with. I wish I had that."

After he finished telling me that, he turned and started hobbling away.

What I had said did sound like I wasn't appreciating my parents as much as I should be.

I mean, sure they're dysfunctional and possibly insane, but they were still my family.

And I owed it to myself to give it another try.

"Tucker, wait up." I called, walking over to him.

He glanced at me and I shrugged.

"You're right." I said.

He nodded. "You're right, I'm right. Now are we going inside or what? I'm freezing out here."

I laughed. "Yeah, we're going inside. You need some help?"

"No, I do not need some help. I've getting around on my own for some time now. I'll be fine." He replied, then muttered. "Do I need some help. Psh."

I laughed as we crossed the threshold into my house again.

Same old Tucker.

As we walked inside, the first thing I noticed was my father and mom talking in low, heated voices.

As soon as they saw me, my father met my eyes then slowly stood.

My next move depended on his.


	16. Chapter 16

I had been so certain that he was going to attack me again that I was actually shocked when he exited the room.

"Danny, I'm sorry." My mom stood up and walked over to me.

Jazz took Tucker's hand and they walked over to the couch.

She helped him sit down.

"Oh, so you'll take her help but not mine?" I asked, jokingly.

"Yeah. I mean, she is more attractive than you." He grinned.

"So, she got the brains _and _the looks in the family?" I asked.

"Pretty much. I mean, just look at her." He said.

"Tuck, gross. That's my sister." I replied.

He laughed. "Sorry,"

I looked to Sam who was smiling and talking in a low voice with Jazz.

"I think I'm going to go unpack." I told my mom.

She nodded. "Ok."

I passed by Sam and discreetly tapped her arm, hoping that she would get the message that I wanted to see her upstairs.

I heard Sam say that she would tell Jazz more about it later.

As soon as I got into my old bedroom, I heard Sam's footsteps on the staircase.

I breathed a sigh of relief mixed with confusion and I raked my hands through my hair.

Sam closed the door as soon as she got inside.

"Let me see." She said walking over to me and taking my face in her hands.

"See what?" I asked, dropping my hands back down to my sides.

"Your nose." She said. "He only got you twice it looks like."

I refrained from calling him something.

Sam glanced up into my eyes for a second, then went back to studying my nose.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, lightly pressing her thumb onto it.

"No." I replied.

She nodded then stopped examining it. "I can't tell if it's going to bruise or not. But it doesn't look broken."

I nodded, staring at a spot over her head.

"Danny, look at me." She pulled my eyes level with hers and I reluctantly met them.

"What?" I asked.

"What's going on inside that head of yours?" She asked.

I shrugged.

"That's not a real answer, Danny." She replid.

I pushed her away and walked over to the window.

Everything that I was feeling kept building inside of my mind.

"Come on, Danny. You and I always talk about stuff you know? We're honest with each other, that's what we promised from the start." She said.

I stared out the window into the bleak night, watching the snow flurries turn and fall.

"You _can _be honest with me." She said. "What's filling up your headspace?"

I turned around, my arms crossed. "Did you see him?"

"Who? Your dad?" She asked, a confused look on her face.

"No, Tucker." I replied. "He was walking with a frigging cane!"

"I saw." Sam said in a gentle voice, taking a step toward me. "What are you getting at?"

I looked back out the window.

"Danny, what are you getting at?" She asked again.

I sighed. "If I had never left, Danny Phantom still would have been here to save him and his parents."

"You went off to college. No one blames you for that." She told me.

"You're wrong." I replied, turning around again. "I blame me."

"You shouldn't." She said, crossing the room and trying to pull me into a hug.

I pushed her away.

"Danny," She tried to hug me again.

I pushed her away again, facing my back to her. "No."

"Please." She begged. "Let me in."

There was pang of guilt for a minute, but I swallowed it. "I'm sorry. But I can't."

After a minute, I heard the door shut behind me and when I turned around, Sam was gone.

Sighing, I walked over to my suitcase and pulled out a book.

Was it possible that I had only flown here this morning?

It seemed like an eternity ago. So much had happened and I hadn't even been here for a full twenty-four hours.

I curled up on my old high school bed and I read the book until I heard the door open.

I looked up, blinking because of the words swimming before my eyes.

Sam was staring back at me.

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist. It was almost nine.

So I'd been reading for about an hour.

I looked back up at her. "Hey.."

"Hey." She replied, closing the door behind her.

I closed the book and sat it on the bed beside me.

She eased down onto the bed beside me.

"I'm sorry." I said.

She shook her head.

"I've got to stop prying. If there's something that you have to keep to yourself, I…I should respect that." Her voice sounded broken.

"No." I replied, crawling toward her. I wanted nothing more than to chase that brokenness away.

"You're my fiancé, I shouldn't have to keep anything from you." I said.

"It's ok." She replied.

A tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her face.

Gently, I wiped it from her face, and felt that same pang of guilt again.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, kissing her cheek where the tear had been seconds before.

She didn't say anything, so I continued talking.

"You're my fiancé. I should be able to let you in. And not just in some areas. All the way, in every aspect of my life." I said.

She gave me a small smile. "You know that I only want in because I love you, right?"

I nodded. "Absolutely. And you should, you've let me all the way in."

She shrugged. "I don't know about that."

"I do." I replied. "After your father died, you let me all the way in. I saw more of the raw side of you than I thought I ever would."

She gave me another smile and curled up next to me.

"Are we staying here tomorrow night?" She asked. "Or did that fight with your dad turn you off of all family time?"

"No, we're not staying here." I said. "It's just…too weird."

"Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

I sighed. "That may be the problem."

"What?"

"It's just..being here, with you, back in my parents house? It feels surreal."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It feels like my old life." I winced. "The one that I abandoned long ago."

"Danny, I…" She trailed off.

"I can't do this." I whispered.

She slid her arm around my stomach and curled up closer to me. "I'm here."

I sighed.

There was silence for a minute before she spoke again.

"And what do you mean this feels like your old life? The high school version of you didn't have the guts to ask me out." She said.

I laughed. "Well, you challenged me."

"And you were threatened by that?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. Who wouldn't be?" I asked.

She laughed. "Boys.."

I pulled her closer to me and gave her a kiss.

After we parted, I snuggled up close to her and fell asleep beside my beautiful fiancé.


	17. Chapter 17

I wouldn't have woken up, but the sun was streaming in at such an angle that it shone right in my eyes.

I checked the time.

The digital clock on my nightstand read eight thirty.

Sighing, I crawled out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of my suitcase.

I went into the bathroom and turned the water on.

After I stripped off my clothing and removed my shoes, I climbed into the tub, letting the water run all over my chest and back.

I turned my face toward the water and closed my eyes.

The water ran down my face and off my chin.

After a second, I turned my back to the water and began washing my hair.

Once I was finished with my shower, I climbed out and got dressed, taking the time to towel off first.

After I was finished getting dressed, I went back into my bedroom to check on Sam.

I smiled as I saw that she was still sleeping peacefully.

Grabbing the book that I was reading last night, I exited the room, headed downstairs.

When I got into the living room, I saw my father sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.

I might be a coward, but I didn't want him to see me.

And just as I was about to go back up the stairs, he looked up from his newspaper and saw me standing there.

"Danny." He said, closing the newspaper and sitting it on the couch cushion beside him.

I nodded. "Yeah, hey."

"What are you doing up? You used to sleep in pretty late." He said. "Especially on winter break."

"Dad, that was five years ago." I said. "I've changed my schedule since creating a multi-million dollar company."

His face hardened. "Right. I'm sorry, I forgot all about your new prestigious life."

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I just can't understand why you can fly halfway across the world and overseas just to close business deals, but you can't come see your mother and me?" He asked, glaring at me.

"I'm sorry. Have you forgotten how you badly you wanted to dissect me five years ago?" I demanded.

He stood up. "I'm not doing this, Danny."

"Doing what? Having a conversation with me about the past?"

"No, I'm not." He said and he exited the living room, going into the kitchen.

"Why not?" I demanded, following him into the kitchen.

He whirled around. "Because I'm not."

"That makes no sense at all." I argued.

"Well, then I guess you're going to have to learn to live with disappointment." He replied.

"Already done. I learned how to do that the day you rejected me." I said.

For a moment, I saw a small flicker of sadness in his eyes, but it was quickly gone.

"Fine. If you're still so broken up about it, why are you even staying here?" He demanded.

I didn't have an answer for that and when I didn't respond, he scoffed and walked away.

I dashed outside and changed to ghost. For some reason, I had to get away.

I couldn't take any more from him or from anyone else right now.

So I left. I took off into the sky and flew further and further from my house until it was just a spot in the distance.

I continued to fly, studying the way the town had changed.

The school was smaller and it looked more run-down.

City Hall had been freshly painted and new signs were hung on the door.

I heard a scream below and I instantly stopped, and flew toward the sound.

The screaming got louder and continued as I headed in the direction it was coming from.

When I stopped flying, I looked in the direction I'd heard it come from and discovered a young girl, no older than eleven.

She was covering her body, whimpering.

"Don't hurt me ghost." She said. "Please, I beg you, don't hurt me."

I looked around and realized that she was talking to me.

It hit me how stupid I was for going ghost in a town that had been ravaged by ghosts.

A town that had been almost completely destroyed by ghosts.

I ducked behind a small trashcan and returned to human.

Slowly, I walked toward the girl.

"Umm, are you ok?" I asked.

The girl glanced up at me, still visibly shaking.

"W-who are you?" She asked.

"My name's Danny." I said, crouching beside her.

"Did you see it too? The g-ghost?" She asked, dropping her arms back down to her sides.

I hesitated. If I didn't nod, the girl would think she was crazy or that I was lying.

But if I did and she told her parents or anybody, they might think that ghosts were back to attack the town.

"I think so." I said. "But he didn't look like he was here to hurt anything. He looked like he was leaving."

"My dad told me that there are no good ghosts." She said. "Only bad ones. Like the ones who took my mom."

I swallowed as a pang of guilt ran through me.

She had lost her mother because I wasn't here to protect the town.

I was so selfish when I ran from my home town.

My town, my family and my friends all needed me and what did I do?

Like a coward, I ran and hid out because I was too afraid of facing my parents.

So they had rejected me, so they had thought of taking the ghost half from me…did that give me a right to turn a blind eye to the problems of my town?

No.

Sighing, I stood up and helped the girl stand as well.

She took off down the street, every now and then glancing back at me.

Great. If I ever needed a way to make myself feel lower than sewer scum, I would just start talking to the inhabitants of my town.

The one that I had abandoned five years ago.

That would certainly make me feel lower than I'd ever felt.

Slowly, I started back toward my home. This time, on foot.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: I apologize for the slow update. Earlier today, I updated chapter eighteen and it turned out that I uploaded chapter eighteen from a different story. I immediately took it down once I was notified of the mistake, and I thought that I uploaded the right chapter.

Turns out that I didn't, so I apologize. Thank you for the patience and for reading my story. ;)

By the time I reached my house, it was almost nine thirty and I was freezing.

I hadn't taken the time to grab a jacket.

The last thing I did before I exited the house was grab my shoes.

Shivering in the bitter morning cold, I continued on until I reached the steps leading up to my house.

Quickly, I climbed the stairs and pulled the front door open.

I heard the sounds of breakfast being eaten and some small talk being made.

I tried my best to pass by the dining room without being noticed but that was pretty much impossible.

"Danny?" My mom asked.

I turned around and looked at her, giving her a small smile.

"Hey." I said.

"Where were you?" She asked. "We looked for you…"

I swallowed. "Sorry, I went out for a little bit."

"Oh." My mom said.

Sam looked at me with a knowing look on her face.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs and unpack my suitcase." I said.

"I'll come with you." Sam said, already rising from her chair.

I shook my head. "No, you can stay down here. I'm fine."

"Danny, why don't you eat breakfast?" My mom asked. "Come on, we're all here."

I looked at my father, seated at the head of the table and for the barest of a second, our eyes met.

"Yeah, that's the problem." I muttered and started for the stairs.

I was only on the first stair when I heard Sam call my name.

She came to the bottom of the stairs and I turned around to face her.

"Look, why not just have breakfast with us?" She asked.

I shook my head, still feeling guilty whenever I thought of that little girl.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"You don't fool me, Danny Fenton." She said.

"I'm fine." I said and turned around, walking the rest of the way up the stairs.

I didn't respond or turn around when she called my name.

After a few minutes, she stopped calling my name and I guess she went back to eating.

I closed my bedroom door behind me just as my phone rang.

I slid it from my pocket and recognized the number as the office.

Swallowing, I pressed the ear to my phone and hit send.

"Hello?" I asked.

One of my employees was on the other end.

"Boss, I'm sorry to call you while you're on vacation, but we have a problem here." He said.

I checked the number again. This employee was calling from the office in New York.

"Ok, what problem?" I asked.

"A shipment that was supposed to arrive in Texas four days ago, arrived in Moscow…almost two weeks ago." He said.

I bit my lip and slowly let out a breath.

"Ok, how long have we had the customers in Texas?" I asked.

"This is Seeton, we have 'em since April of last year." He said.

I let out a low sigh. "Ok. Here's what we're going to do."

"Ok." He said.

"Get a pen and a piece of paper and I want you to follow this step by step, all right?" I asked.

"All right." He responded.

There was silence for a moment just as the door opened and Jazz walked in.

She opened her mouth to speak and I held up a finger, then pointed to my phone.

She crossed her arms and glared at me as the guy came back on the line.

"What do you want me to do, boss?" He asked.

I turned my back to Jazz. "I want you to first call the customers in Moscow and explain to them the mix-up. Then I want you to offer them a weeks worth of products in return for their understanding."

I paused for a moment, letting him write all that down.

"Then, I want you to call Seeton, and talk to them about the mix up. And I want you to offer them a month's worth of products in return for their understanding."

He was silent a moment.

"You got all of that?" I asked.

"Yeah…boss, are you sure about this? We're going to be losing a lot of money by giving them a month's worth of free products." He said.

"Trust me when I saw that if Seeton pulls out, we're going to be losing a lot more than just a month's worth. Got it?" I asked.

"Well…yeah. I guesss, boss are you sure?" He asked again.

"I'm positive. Now get on with it, times ticking." I replied.

After I hung up with him, I dropped my phone onto my bed and turned back around to face Jazz.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Why'd you take off this morning?" She asked. "Sam was really worried when she couldn't find you."

I did feel guilty about that, but it wasn't like I deliberately left on purpose just to worry her.

"I'm sorry." I said in an emotionless voice.

"Danny, I swear, I don't know why you're acting this way but it's getting on my nerves." She said.

I sighed. "Acting what way?"

"Taking off without telling anyone where you're going, fighting with dad, constantly-"

"What?" I demanded, my eyes meeting hers, my anger growing.

"I was just going to say constantly not wanting-"

"No, no. Back up, fighting with dad?" I demanded.

"Well, yeah. You have been doing that a lot lately." She said. "Actually you've fought with him twice since you came here."

So he hadn't told her about this morning which ratcheted my 'fight' count up to a three.

"Jazz, I've been here what, a day? And you're already harping on me?" I asked.

"Danny, I'm not harping." She replied.

"Really?" I demanded.

She gave an angry sigh. "You know what? Whatever. I don't care anymore. Live your life however you want to live it, but don't come here and yell at our parents."

"In case you haven't noticed, both times that we argued, he was the one who started it!" I yelled.

"Oh, that's real mature, Danny." She replied.

I tried to get a control on my anger, not remembering the last time I'd let someone push my buttons.

She glared at me as I took slow, even breaths.

"Why'd you come up here?" I asked. "Did you have something in mind you wanted to address or are you done?"

She gave an impatient sigh. "I was just going to tell you that Tucker offered to take you and Sam around town in about twenty minutes, so you could re-visit places and see how much they've changed or haven't changed."

"Ok. Tell him that's great and I'll see him then." I replied.

So that was fine, I would go out with Sam and Tucker and I would have a good time and we would go around town.

And I could forget everything else for a little while.

That was entirely possible.


	19. Chapter 19

After Jazz left my room, I picked my phone up from where I'd tossed it onto the bed.

I checked through my contacts list, looking for my assistant.

As soon as I found her number, I called her instantly.

In the middle of the second ring, she picked up.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Fenton?" She asked.

"Cassandra, great." I said, putting a hand to my forehead. "I'm glad I caught you. I need you to do a favor for me."

"Whatever you need, Mr. Fenton." She said.

I had always liked Cassandra. From the day I had interviewed the others vying for the spot of assistant to the head boss, I had liked her best.

She seemed eager to please, but not just in the way where she would get a bigger paycheck.

She just seemed like somebody who genuinely wanted to help out.

"In my office, go into my bottom desk drawer and you'll see a safe." I said.

"Yes, sir?" She asked.

"Ok, I need you to unlock that safe-the passcode is four four zero four." I said. "Inside, you'll see some documents regarding my bank account."

"Yes sir." She said.

"Ok, I need you to find one of those documents and go up to my bank, you know which one I go to right?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. You bank with the one on the corner of Wall Street." She said.

"Ok, great." I said. "When you do all of that, and you're outside the bank, I need you to call me back ok?"

"Yes, sir. I can do that." She said.

"Great." I replied. "Thanks."

After I got off the phone with Cassandra, I checked the time.

Jazz said that Tucker wanted to take me and Sam out in about twenty minutes.

She said that about ten minutes ago.

I grabbed my jacket from where I'd strewn it across the floor the other day.

I laid it on the bed and put my phone down on top of my jacket.

Now, I was completely prepared for when Tucker came over.

With any luck, he'd be here soon and I could get out of this house as fast as I could.

I sat down on my bed and checked my email to make sure there wasn't anything else I needed to handle right away.

There was a small knock at the door and then the door opened.

Sam was standing there.

"Hey, did Jazz tell you about Tucker taking us to see the town?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Ok, cause he's here so…" She nodded toward the downstairs.

"I'll be right down." I replied.

"Ok." She gave me a small smile and I returned it.

After she left, I checked my email one more time and I got up from the bed, pulling my jacket on.

I slid my phone into the outer pocket of my jacket and headed down the stairs.

"All right, I'm ready." I said as I descended the stairs.

Sam was at the bottom of the staircase.

She looked up at me and smiled as I said that.

"Finally, I've been waiting down here for forever." Tucker said, ambling up from the couch.

"Wow, even after all these years, you're still dramatic." I replied, laughing.

"Hey, I'm not being dramatic." He responded.

I laughed. "You are. Just a little."

After he kissed Jazz goodbye, and I averted my eyes during this, the three of us left.

Tucker was slower getting to the car and I made the mistake of asking him if he needed help.

He stopped in the middle of the driveway to glare at me.

With one finger, he pushed his glasses further up onto his nose.

"Listen and listen good cause I am only going to say this once." He said, leaning on his cane for support.

I swallowed and nodded slowly.

"I am not some poor old man that needs help crossing the street. I'm still twenty three years old, just like you. I don't need someone to hold my hand or to wheel me around anymore. What happened to me was tragic and I wish that I had the ability to walk normally again, but I don't. I don't waste my time whining about it and I don't ask anyone for help. I've been getting by on my own for quite some time now. So don't think even for a second, that I need help getting into my own car." He said, taking a breath.

"I'm sorry." I said.

He shook his head. "Don't apologize. Just don't offer to help me."

I nodded.

"You honestly don't know how hard it is to hear people offer to help me. It makes me feel..." He trailed off, trying to find the right word.

I took a step toward his car.

"It makes me feel like I'm somehow less in their eyes." He finished.

I shook my head. "That's not what I meant. All I meant-"

Tucker held up his hand. "It doesn't matter what you meant, just please don't offer to help me anymore? All right. I promise you that I'm able-bodied."

Sam had stood quietly during all of this, just watching us.

As soon as Tucker started toward the car, she spoke up.

"Hey Tuck?" She called.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Do you need some help?" She asked, grinning.

He laughed and waved his cane at her. "As soon as I get over there, I am so kicking your butt."

She laughed and ducked back into the car, climbing into the back seat.

I climbed in beside her and waited until Tucker got into the front seat.

"You know, one of you guys could sit in the passenger seat." He said.

"We know. We wanted to stay back here and kiss and gross you out." Sam said.

Tucker laughed out loud as he put the park into gear. "That's fine. While you two kiss and ham it up back there, I'm going to start composing a letter to Jazz. And since I have to keep my hands on the wheel, I'll have to compose it out loud."

"Gross." I replied.

He laughed. "Ready to see the town you guys?"

'Not really.' I thought. I was pretty sure that the town would have changed for the worse.

Mainly due to ghost attacks…and that part was my-well Danny Phantom's-fault.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I replied, pasting a smile on my face.

Time to face the destruction of the city I'd abandoned years ago.


	20. Chapter 20

Tucker started down the street, happily chatting away about something that I wasn't really paying attention.

I stared out the window, watching the buildings as they zipped past.

"You all right?" Sam asked, putting her hand on my arm.

I turned toward her, giving her a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just checking out the sights."

"A lot has changed hasn't it?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

After she turned back toward the window, I did the same.

The town seemed so different from when I last was here.

All of the buildings were changed. Some of that was due to aging but a lot of it had to be rebuilt because of ghost attacks.

I swallowed hard and finally asked Tucker.

"When was the last ghost attack?" I asked.

He sighed. "I'm not sure. I was visiting my aunt and uncle during the last one. I'm almost positive it was about a year ago but you'd have to double check with Jazz."

I shook my head. "No, that's all right."

Silence fell in the car as Tucker continued driving.

"Is that the school?" Sam asked.

Tucker glanced out the window and smiled. "Yeah it is, you guys want to see it?"

"Yeah." Sam said, turned her grin toward me.

I forced a smile and waited till Tucker pulled the car to a stop.

As soon as Sam climbed out, I followed suit and stood outside the car, my arms crossed.

Tucker hobbled out, wincing when his foot landed on the pavement wrong.

He slowly ambled up toward the front door. "You guys want to go in?"

"Isn't it closed for winter break?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. They're going to demolish it in a few weeks. They're leaving up during Christmas Break so people can come and re-visit the place where they graduated."

"So we can go in?" Sam asked, grinning.

Tucker shrugged. "Try the door."

"Ok." She bounced up the stairs and pulled on the door.

She turned around, her hand still on the door handle. "It's locked."

"That's never stopped you before." He replied, laughing.

I smiled.

She turned around and continued trying to pull it open.

I fell in step beside Tucker, slowing my walk so I was at the same pace as him.

"You don't need to slow down." He laughed. "I'll hit you in the shins with my cane."

"Wow, you sound like an old man." I replied.

He laughed and waved me off. "Go kiss your girlfriend."

"Actually…" I glanced up at her, still yanking on the door handle and I dropped my voice a notch. "She's my fiancé."

He stopped walking and looked at me. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Wow." He replied, pushing his glasses up. "I never thought that you'd tie the knot. Especially after what happened with your parents."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Things like that can give people like trust issues."

"People like me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, the kind of people who go through those things." Tucker replied giving me a weird look. "What are you so angry about?"

I shook my head and looked away from him.

He started walking again, then slowed to a stop.

"You know something, Danny?"

I turned around to look at him. "What?"

He waved his cane in the general direction of the school and the buildings beside it that were crumbling.

"This isn't your fault." He said.

I shrugged. "Whatever."

"Danny." He said.

I met his gaze.

"None of this is your fault. The ghosts were going to attack with or without you here." He said.

"Yeah, but if I had been here, this town would have at least been semi-protected. I could have stopped some of them. I could have saved you, Tucker." I said.

His eyebrows drew down in a genuinely confused expression.

"Do you think that I regret what happened to me?" He asked.

I shrugged and looked at the ground.

"Everything happens for a reason, Danny."

"No, we give reasons for things that happen." I replied, looking back up.

He shrugged. "Maybe so. Do you want to hear what I think about the accident that almost took my life?"

I nodded.

"I'm alive." He said. "And after going through all that stuff, it has made me stronger. If I had never gone through what I did, I never would have gotten together with your sister."

I sighed.

"No, I'm serious. And I'm not trying to gross you out but Jazz is the most important thing in my life." He said. "My relationship with her beats everything else out."

Tucker gave a small shrug. "I miss my parents, I do. But if they had to die for me to appreciate life more, then so be it. Because what's done is done."

I swallowed.

"Look at me." He said.

I did.

"Hey guys, the door's still not opening." Sam called.

Tucker sighed and looked at her. "One second, we'll be right there."

She glanced between the two of us, nodded and turned back around, continuing to work on the door.

I stared at Sam watching the way she crouched down to look into the keyhole.

"Feeling guilty about what happened to me and the other people of this town isn't going to make it better or erase what happened. It's done, Danny. So quit dwelling on it and wondering 'what if' scenarios. Those don't help anyone, least of all your fiancé." He said.

I swallowed and nodded.

"Got it?" He asked. "I don't want you to continue feeling sorry for me because of what happened. I'll be fine."

I nodded. "Got it."

"Good. Now let's go break into school."

Despite everything, I laughed and climbed the stairs with him.

"Let me see what we're dealing with here." I said.

Sam stepped out of the way and I made my arm go intangible.

I unlocked the lock from the inside, retracted my arm and opened the door.

"We're in." I said, grinning at my two high school best friends.

As we walked through the hall, Tucker smiled. "Wow, this brings back memories."

There was one thing that was curious about the school.

All of the posters that were up advertising end of school dances and beach parties and graduation…they all seemed to be dated for five years ago.

"Why does this seem so familiar?" I asked, turning to Tucker.

He gave a sigh. "The last five years, the school's been boarded up."

"Why?" I asked, feeling the shock on my face.

I looked at Sam and she had the same look on her face.

"Because parents didn't find it safe enough to let their children go to school here. A lot of the kids in this town have been homeschooled or they get shuttled to a new school." He shrugged. "It's just the way it's been."

Great. So now I was responsible for the fact that these kids don't have a lot of freedom along with the destruction of the entire town.


	21. Chapter 21

"Don't worry about it." Tucker shrugged, then turned to Sam, a grin on his face. "Hey, do you still remember your locker combination?"

Sam thought for a second, her finger tapping against her chin.

"Oh! Yeah, I do." She said. "Come on."

She went racing down the hall, her infectious laugh bouncing off the walls.

Tucker chuckled and started ambling down the hall.

"Go get her. I'll be right there." He said.

I patted his shoulder, and took off running.

Sam was still laughing as I caught up to her and lifted her off the ground.

"Danny, stop!" She yelled, still giggling.

I grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her over my shoulder.

She playfully beat her fists against my back.

"Put me down!" She said.

I moved her off my shoulder and pulled her into my arms.

"Not until you kiss me." I said. "And say please."

She grinned and leaned forward.

Her lips pressed against mine, and I smiled.

She pulled away. "Please?"

"No." I replied, kissing her neck.

"Danny, put me down!" She giggled.

I set her down on the floor. "Fine."

She kissed my cheek. "Thank you."

We started walking in the general direction of her locker and she was swinging my hand forward, grinning at me.

"What are you thinking, you goof?" I asked.

She giggled. "I'm thinking about how we're engaged and back in our old high school."

"Please don't tell me you want to get married here." I chuckled.

"Actually, the idea of getting married in Amity Park, isn't a half bad idea." She replied.

I swallowed.

"I'm just kidding. I want to get married back in New York." She said. "It's beautiful there."

"Yeah, it is." I gave a sigh of relief.

"You guys found your locker's yet?" He asked.

It was pretty dark in there when the door was shut and I couldn't really see Tucker from that far away.

Once he caught up to us, he looked around. "Wow, this place hasn't changed at all."

"So why are they demolishing it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I guess they're not making any money since kids aren't going here anymore."

"Right." I replied.

"Which locker was mine?" Sam asked. "Was it thirty six or thirty eight? Danny, I know that you had the other one and Tucker you had locker number thirty seven."

"Thirty eight was mine." I replied.

"Ok," She took a few steps over to the correct locker and spun the dial in the correct combination code.

I heard the lock click into place and I glanced at her.

She opened the door and looked inside.

"Whoa, check this out." She pulled out a map.

"What is that?" Tucker asked.

She stretched it out and laid it down onto the floor.

"Do you guys know what this is?" She looked up at us.

I crouched down next to it. "Yeah...this is the map that we took with us when we road cross-country to the San Diego sci-fi and comic book convention, Gothapalooza and Cape Carnaveral."

I looked up at Sam. "You forced Tucker and me to pull over and buy a map because you insisted that we didn't know where we were going."

"You didn't." She stuck her tongue out at me for a second, then grinned.

"I'm like a human compass, I had everything under control." Tucker piped up.

"Sure." I rolled my eyes.

He laughed. "I did. I knew exactly where we were headed."

Even Sam laughed.

She picked up the map, refolded it and stuffed it into her purse.

"I'll have to add this to my keepsakes." She grinned.

"Didn't you clean out your locker after graduation?" I asked.

She shook her head. "You know me. Cleaning out my locker was always something I could put off for the next few days or the next couple of weeks."

"And then weeks turned into years?" Tucker asked.

"Well, yeah." She laughed.

I laughed too. "Let's see what's in my locker."

Sam continued to pilfer through her locker as I spun the combination on the lock.

"Did you clean out your locker?" Tucker asked.

"Sort of." I replied.

As soon as the door to my locker swung open, a cloud of dust came out and I coughed.

"Walk it off, man." He laughed.

After I took a deep breath, I reached into the back of my locker and pulled out my old lunch box from the third grade.

On the front of it was a picture of a rocket ascending into space.

"You still have that thing?" Sam asked.

"Apparently." I said, blowing dust off the top of it. "In high school, I used it to collect things that I didn't want to lose in my locker, or things that I didn't want to take home."

Slowly, I opened the lunchbox.

It's metal hinges creaked loudly and echoed off the walls.

The first thing I saw was a ticket to Circus Gothica.

I held it up to show it to the two of them. "Remember this?"

A grin spread across Sam's face as she reached out for the ticket.

I handed it to her, and she gave a soft sigh.

"Yeah, I remember it. That circus was really awesome. For several reasons." She said, handing it back to me.

"And by several reasons, you mean (a) you got to piss your parents off. And (b), you got rescued by Danny." Tucker grinned and pushed his glasses up further.

"Shut it." She replied.

I laughed. "You wanna see it, Tuck?"

He shook his head and took a few, slow steps to where he could be beside me.

H leaned against the locker for support and I felt that guilt stir in me again.

"What else you got?" He asked.

I shrugged and continued digging through the lunchbox. "Here's some pictures from that cross-country tip you mentioned earlier."

Sam gave a whimper and I snapped my head up.

"What is it?" I asked, glancing at her.

She shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand.

I could see tears in her eyes, so I set the lunchbox down inside my locker and I walked over to her.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, putting my hand on the side of her face.

She held out something to me.

With my other hand, I took it.

"What's this?"

It looked like a ring of some sort.

"That's the Wes ring." She said.

"That's the what ring?"

She shook her head. "That's the ring you gave me to watch look after when we were in high school. It has my name engraved on it."

I blushed and scratched the back of my head.

"Yeah, my dad gave me that to give to you."

As soon as I said those words, I wished I'd hadn't.

Immediately, another memory rolled through me and I leaned against the locker for support.

"Danny?" Sam asked, looking up from the ring in my hand to my face.

I dropped the ring and it clattered onto the floor, away from me.

When I looked up at Sam, her face changed from her own to my father's.


	22. Chapter 22

I was no longer in Casper High, my old high school.

I was back in my parent's lab, as an eighteen year old, fresh out of high school.

My father was glaring at me and it took me a second to remember why.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He spat.

My eighteen year-old self shrank away from him.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I've tried really hard to-"

"I don't want to hear it!" He snapped, slamming his fist onto the table beside him.

I jerked away from the sound of his voice, startled.

"Jack." My mom put her hand on his arm.

H shrugged her off and stalked toward me, his hair a mess from the man times he'd pulled at it earlier in our conversation.

"There's got to be a way." He squinted his eyes, examining me.

I glanced down at the straps binding me to the chair, as tears fell on them.

Suddenly, I was back in Casper High, gasping for breath.

No straps were binding me down here, but I felt like something had crushed my windpipe.

"Danny!" Sam sounded alarmed.

Her nails were digging into the skin of my forearm.

I bent over at the waist, covering my face with my hands.

Phrases that my father had said to me before I left kept coming back to me.

'There's no use in trying'

'Don't even bother'

'What do you're doing? You know I can't let you do that.'

'You're so grounded!'

I clapped my hands over my ears as my breathing quickened.

It was a struggle, but I managed to prevent myself from hyperventilating.

What was these black-out like episodes? I'd never had these before.

Maybe it was being back in this old town, it was stirring memories inside of me…

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself then slowly, I rose back up to my full height.

Sam's eyes showed every degree of worry and concern.

"You ok, dude?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, I just...I want to get out of here." I replied, pulling away from Sam.

Within a few seconds, I was out of the school again, jogging down the steps and blinking in the bright sunlight.

I heard Tucker call my name as I pulled on the door to his car.

I slammed my fists into the door as I realized that he'd locked it.

"Danny!" Sam yelled, running out of the school after me.

My breathing was heavy and tears stung at my eyes.

I slammed my fists against the door again as I realized that after all this time, what they had done to me…still hurt.

I slammed my fists against the door again, feeling the pain radiate through my wrists and hands.

"Danny." Sam called, running toward me.

I turned my back to her, not wanting her to see the tears in my eyes.

Somewhere, deep inside of myself, I knew that I was stronger than this.

But at this moment, nothing else mattered. I had never let myself hurt over what they had done to me, and now I was.

And it was all coming back all at once.

Sam put her hands on my shoulders.

"Danny, look at me."

I took a deep breath, and it caught in my throat.

I felt Sam's hands stiffen on my shoulders.

"Danny?" She asked.

I gave a sigh and turned around to face her.

"Danny, honey, what's going on?" She asked, putting a hand up to my face.

I was positive that she could see the tears in my eyes but she didn't say anything.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"I don't buy that, talk to me." She said.

She continued to stare at me as I said nothing.

Tucker came out of the school, hobbling down the steps as fast as he could.

I shook my head, not meeting her eyes.

She put her thumb under my chin and gently lifted my face up.

I looked at her, taking in her full lips and dark eyelashes.

There was a slight blush on her cheeks due to the cold wind.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers, her kiss chasing away those other feelings.

Now, all I felt was passion for her and for our relationship.

I loved her with everything I had in me and it was better to build something new with her than to try and tear down what was between me and my parents.

She pulled away, a confused look on her face.

I was breathing heavily, hungry for more.

"I love you." I breathed.

Her eyebrows drew down. "I...I love you, too. What's going on?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"It does." She said.

"Let's get out of here." I said.

"Ok." She replied, still sounding confused. "Where do you want to go? The Nasty Burger?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't mean out of here, Casper High. I mean out of here, Amity Park. Let's just get on a plane and go back to New York."

"Danny...but our suitcases are still at your house." She said.

"So? Let's leave them. We can buy new suitcases and new clothes." I replied.

"But..."

I waited for her response.

She was biting her lip, fighting some internal battle that I couldn't see.

"Danny, is this about that fight you had with your dad the other night?" She asked.

I retracted my arms from holding her and crossed them instead. "No. This is about me wanting to get away with my fiancé."

"We are away." She said. "If we go back to New York, we'll be going home."

"I know that." I replied. "I just want to get away from Amity Park."

"Danny, what's going on?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Never mind."

"Dude, what's up?" Tucker asked.

I'd sort of forgotten that he was standing though, so as the realization hit me that he'd heard our whole conversation, a blush crept up into my face.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "Let's go to the Nasty Burger."

"You sure?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "Tuck, unlock the car, will you?"

He pressed a button on his keys and I heard the lock click.

I pulled on the door and this time, it slid open, allowing me to climb in.

"Danny, what happened back in there?" Sam asked.

"It's not important." I replied, sliding the door shut, creating a barrier between us.

I saw Sam's shoulders drop as she started walking around the side of the car to get in.

I knew that she was going to ask me about what happened again.

Sighing, I let my head fall against the back of the seat, trying to come up with a way that I could explain it so she wouldn't think I was crazy...


	23. Chapter 23

Sam got into the car beside me, buckled her seatbelt and turned to me.

I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see the look of utter concern on her face.

"Danny, will you tell me what's going on?" She asked.

I squinted my eyes open, looking out the windshield.

Tucker was still making his way around the car.

I shook my head, closing my eyes again. "I don't want to. Please, Sam. Try to understand that."

She gave a sigh that was more out of frustration than anything else.

I didn't say anything as Tucker climbed into the driver's seat.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

I waited for Sam to reply. She either wanted to go home and grill me about what the heck happened, or she was hoping that if I relaxed, I'd be open to discussion later.

There was about a full minute before either of us spoke.

I opened my eyes and gave a sideways glance at Sam.

She was staring out the window, her chin on the palm of her hand.

Tucker looked into the rearview mirror.

"Guys?" He asked.

"Just go the Nasty Burger or something."

I hadn't noticed before, but Tucker had grabbed the lunchbox from my locker before he'd left the school.

I gave a sigh as he sat it down on the seat beside him.

"Ok. Well, the Nasty Burger was actually torn down shortly after all the ghost attacks." He said. "Anywhere else you'd like to go?"

My phone rang and I slid it out of my pocket.

Cassandra was calling me back.

"Give me a second." I mumbling, sliding open the door.

I stepped out, closed the door behind me and answered the call.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Mr. Fenton?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, hey." I said. "What's up?"

"I'm outside of the bank like you told me to be. What are my further instructions?" She asked.

"Ok, go into the bank." I turned my back to the car and looked up at the sky. "And ask them if they can locate a bank here that I can withdraw funds from."

"Ok…umm, where is 'here' Mr. Fenton?" She asked.

I almost winced but I refrained.

"I'm in Amity Park." I said.

There was silence for a moment on her end while she processed what I was saying.

"Amity Park?" She asked. "You're back home?"

I sighed and glanced at the ground, kicking a rock out of my way. "Yeah. I wish I wasn't though."

"Umm...why would you go back there? Even after everything they did to you?"

I gave a sigh. "Cassandra, I don't want to talk about it.

There was no way I was dragging Sam into this.

"I'm sorry, sir. It's none of my business." She replied.

Almost a year and six months ago, Cassandra started working for me.

Over time, I let slip a few times that I didn't stay in contact with my family.

Eventually, she asked and I told her the whole story. I left out some of the harsher parts. You know about them trying to kill me and everything.

I also, didn't tell her about the fact that I was half-ghost.

I just told her that I told them that I wanted to be a business major instead of following in my dad's footsteps and that the two of them flipped out.

"I don't if there is a bank locally in Amity Park that could connect with your regular bank." She said.

I gave a sigh, and raked my fingers through my hair.

Glancing over my shoulder told me that Sam and Tucker were in the middle of a conversation.

"Just talk to them, ok? See what they can do." I instructed.

"Yes sir." She replied.

After that, I hung up and headed back toward the car.

I pulled on the door handle and slid the door open.

The two of them straightened up.

"So where to?" Tucker asked.

I looked at Sam. "Where to?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, where else did we go as kids?"

"Circus Gothica." Tucker said.

The three of us laughed, breaking the remaining tension in the air.

"Remember when he had you dressed like the grim reaper and he forced me up onto the high wire with you?" She asked.

I laughed. "No, I remember bits and pieces of what happened but never really what exactly was going on at the moment."

"Well, you were totally up on the high wire." She said.

"Scaring the crap out of the rest of us." Tucker said.

I laughed. "I don't doubt that."

"So, as far as for today, what are we doing?" He asked, still chuckling slightly. "I mean besides attending your parents party tonight."

"What party?" I asked, snapping my head up.

"The get-together that your mom mentioned when we got there." Sam said, giving me a weird look.

I took a breath. "I thought she said that was a few days away."

Sam shook her head.

"No, dude. I can show you my invite." Tucker said.

I shook my head. "No. I believe you. I just didn't realize it was tonight."

"Sorry to spring it on you." He replied.

"It's fine." I replied. "Where do you guys want to go?"

"Oh you know what? There's someone I want you to see." Tucker grinned and backed out of the school parking lot.

"Who?" Sam asked.

He shook his head. "Just wait."

We drove for a long time, taking a lot of backroads.

I looked at Sam. "Who do you think it is?"

"It could be his aunt and uncle. He did say that they lived far away right?" She joked.

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked, glancing in the mirror again.

"You're taking forever!" She exclaimed, laughing.

"Oh shut up." He replied but a grin was on his face.

After about twenty more minutes, we pulled to a stop in front of an old weathered house.

"Where the heck are we?" I asked, unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Get out you two." Tucker grinned.

As soon as we stepped out, the front door to the house opened and an older person stepped out.

"Well, well. Mr. Fenton." A familiar voice said.

I had to do a double take before I realized that the older person at the doorway was Mr. Lancer.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for being patient while I struggled through this chapter. I have no idea what happened when Chapter 23 disappeared but everything seems normal again. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing! _  
_

"M-Mr. Lancer?" I asked, feeling like my tongue was too large for my mouth.

"I was wondering when I'd hear from you, Mr. Fenton." He smiled. "Come on in here."

I glanced at Sam.

Her eyebrows were raised, staring at him.

"You too, Miss Manson." He smiled.

I gave a nervous laugh as I started for the stairs. "How have you been?"

"Well, I've been busy taking care of this one." He gestured toward Tucker. "He was quite a handful after his accident."

I glanced at Tucker.

He shrugged. "I'll explain when we get inside. It's too cold out here to keep standing around just to chat."

He tried to hurry on his walk toward the steps but his leg kept buckling.

I took a step toward him like I was going to help, only because I didn't want him fall on the pavement.

"Danny. I'm not too injured to kick your ass. Now get up the stairs and quit waiting for me." Tucker commanded, then glanced at Sam. "You too?"

I took her hand and started for the stairs.

"Come on." I said.

"So you two are lovebirds?" Mr. Lancer asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed and Sam giggled.

"Yes. We are." Sam replied, squeezing my hand.

I squeezed hers back.

Mr. Lancer looked over our heads as we started climbing the stairs.

"Still not accepting help, Foley?" He asked.

I turned around in time to see Tucker shaking his head.

"No, sir." He responded, finally reaching the stairs.

He carefully walked up the steps, wincing a few times.

As soon as he was fully up the stairs, Lancer put his hand on his shoulder.

"You're doing better than the last time I saw you." He squeezed Tucker's shoulder, then turned around and walked into the house.

"Come on." Tucker said to me and Sam and stepped into Lancer's house.

"Wow, I never thought I'd be in my high school teacher's house." I whispered to Sam.

She nudged me with her elbow. "Shh!"

I laughed as the two of us stepped into Mr. Lancer's house.

Inside his home, on one wall was a giant poster sized portrait of Amity Park in ruins.

I froze in mid-step.

Sam put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a gentle push forward.

It took me a second to find my feet again and when I did, I still couldn't tear my eyes away from the picture.

My mouth was dry as I spoke.

"Was that…really how it was after all those ghost attacks?" I asked.

Tucker glanced at the poster and made a noise.

"Well…" He started.

Mr. Lancer glanced at the photo behind him. "An accurate portrayal if I do say so myself."

I swallowed.

"Is this an actual photo?" Sam asked, her voice sounding small.

"Actual is a bit of a loose term, Miss Manson." He replied. "There was a very similar photo taken and I paid to have it reconstructed in a canvas form."

So it wasn't a poster. It was canvas art. Charming...

"Sit down." He said gesturing toward the couch.

Sam took a seat beside Tucker and I sat down on the end.

"Fenton you look like you've seen a ghost." He laughed.

I forced a laugh and I could tell that Sam was forcing one too.

"So what have you two done since high school?" He asked.

Sam glanced at me.

My mouth felt like sandpaper so I glanced back at her, silently urging her to start talking about her life first.

She took the hint and looked back at Mr. Lancer, a smile planted on her face.

"After I graduated high school, I went to the art institute of New York, where I fell in love with photography." She dug out her old polaroid camera and held up to her eye. "Mind if I take a picture of you for the scrapbook?"

Mr. Lancer shrugged, then posed in the most un-natural pose ever.

Sam laughed and snapped the picture.

Mr. Lancer chuckled.

The polaroid camera spit the picture out and Sam waved it back and forth, waiting for it to develop.

"Anyway, after the first three years in the institute, I fell behind by a couple of weeks to a…" She swallowed. "Unexpected tragedy."

Mr. Lancer's eyebrows drew down and he nodded.

"Anyway, after my first three years in the institute, I dropped out and I've been a full-time photographer ever since." She said.

"And you and Mr. Fenton have been dating since high school?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, actually, we met up right before I dropped out of the institute."

"Really? So you two _weren't _dating in high school?" He asked, disbelief on his face.

I shook my head. "No, sir. We weren't."

"Huh." He sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers on his arm rest. "I always thought you were."

There was silence for a moment, before he looked at me.

"And you Mr. Fenton? What have you been doing with your life?" He asked, looking at me now.

"I went to a college about three hours from Sam's institute. In my second year of school, I changed my major to a business one." I replied.

"Yeah? What made you change?" He asked.

There was no way that I was getting into the whole, 'my parents didn't send me the college tuition money so I had to start my own business to afford my last two years of college' speech.

So I opted for, "I wasn't interested in my original major anymore."

"Oh." He said.

"You've already heard my whole story." Tucker laughed.

Mr. Lancer laughed too, then looked at me and Sam again.

"He didn't tell you two about how I saved him from certain death?" He asked.

Tucker chuckled and rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't. And guys, don't listen to him. He, in no means, saved me from certain death."

Sam laughed. "Then what is he talking about?"

Mr. Lancer gave a small sigh. "Back when all of the ghosts were attacking, I was also injured. In my left arm."

He held it up for us to examine it.

Dark scars ran across his arm.

"What happened?" Sam asked, a look of shock on her face.

"Well…it was crushed when I was trying to save two girls from a ghost attack." He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't save them and my left arm has never been the same."

"So, what's your connection to Tucker?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing major. We just rehabbed together." He shrugged. "I thought it sounded more dramatic if I said that I had saved him from certain death."

Tucker laughed as my cell phone rang again.

Cassandra was calling again.

"Excuse me." I said, standing up and walking over to the front door.

"I'll be right back." I pushed open the screen door and stepped out into the cold air.


	25. Chapter 25

"Hello?" I answered my phone, the screen door swinging shut behind me.

"Mr. Fenton?" Cassandra asked.

In the year and a half I'd known her, she still insisted on calling me 'Mr. Fenton'.

It's not that I thought that it would be professional for her to call me Danny, but when anyone called me by my last name, it reminded me of my father.

I swallowed. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry to bother you but I've just finished speaking with the branch manager of your regular bank." She said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"She says that there isn't a bank exactly in Amity Park, but there's one about twenty to thirty miles outside of the town that will accept your banking there." She told me.

I glanced back toward the house and sighed. "All right, thanks."

"You're welcome, sir. Is there anything else that I can help you with?" She asked.

I thought for a second. "No, no. That's it for now, thanks Cassandra."

"You're welcome." She replied.

I hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

After a few seconds of steeling myself, I walked back up the steps and pulled open the screen door.

Sam, Tucker and Mr. Lancer looked up.

"Is everything all right?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "Yeah that was Cassandra."

"Your assistant? What's going on at the office?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied. "I had asked her if there was a bank here that I could withdraw some money."

Sam had a confused look on her face. "How come you can't just use your debit card?"

I swallowed. "Some of the places that I want to spend money won't accept my debit card."

"Like where?" She asked.

"Like places in this town." I replied, giving her a look and hoping that she caught the subliminal message.

I'm not sure that she did, but she quit talking about it.

I took a seat on the couch beside Sam and took her hand.

"So, have you two picked a date?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

He pointed at Sam's left hand. "An engagement ring. I'm too old to catch these things, Mr. Fenton."

Sam blushed. "No, not yet sir. We were thinking sometime in the fall."

"The fall's a good time to get married." He smiled. "That's when my wife and I tied the knot."

"Y-you're married?" I asked, feeling the disbelief on my face.

He chuckled. "Uh, no. Not anymore."

"Divorced?" Sam asked.

He shook his head. "No. My wife passed away shortly after the ghost attacks started."

"Did she pass away from the ghost attacks?" I asked, my voice tight.

He nodded and glanced at the ground. "Yes. She did."

He gave a sad sigh. "I was at work, grading papers. And she had just called to tell me that she loved me."

Silence hung in the air.

He looked up at me and Sam. "When I got home, her body was lying on our bedroom floor, a pool of blood around her."

Mr. Lancer stood up from his chair and walked over to a roll-top desk in the corner.

After a second, he walked back over to the three of us and held out a blade.

I recognized immediately that it was something from either Skulker or Vlad.

A slow rage was building inside of me, sending my blood boiling.

"This was the knife I found buried in her side." He gave another sigh as he set it down on the coffee table in front of him. "It punctured her lung and she was dead within minutes."

Sam reached across the coffee table and put her hand on his. "I'm so sorry, sir."

He swallowed and glanced up at Tucker. "It was Foley here who convinced me to keep going. I was at the end of my rope right after I started rehab. I really didn't see the point of living anymore, now that my beautiful Tara was dead."

Tucker nodded. "Well, you helped me back sometimes so."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Lancer." I said.

He nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Fenton. You've always had kind words to say."

The only words that came to my mind were, 'Sir, I'm fourteen. I don't really care.'

I swallowed. "Yeah, well. You're welcome."

"So, how did you two re-meet after high school?" He asked.

I looked at Sam. "She was stalking me."

She laughed and playfully swatted my arm.

"He's joking. I was taking some pictures in the city of New York when I saw him. I knew immediately who it was so I started taking pictures of him."

"Yeah, but all I saw was her taking pictures of me and I didn't recognize her immediately." I added.

Mr. Lancer laughed. "That'll be something to tell the kids."

I blushed. "If we have kids."

"Yeah, Danny's not too keen on the whole idea of having children." Sam said.

"Why not?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing and drawing downward. "Children can be blessings."

I shrugged. "At this point in my life, I don't want children. I just want to marry her."

I gave Sam a smile and squeezed her hand.

"Maybe in the future, I'll want kids." I continued, glancing at Mr. Lancer. "But for now, I'm ok with just me and Sam."

After a second, he nodded. "I guess I can understand that. You're still young."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm twenty-three. I'd hardly call that young." I said.

Mr. Lancer chuckled. "When you get to be my age, Daniel, twenty-three is young."

I couldn't argue with that, so I nodded instead.

A clock above Mr. Lancer's head chimed loudly telling us that it was now 12:30.

"Well, it's about time for lunch." He smiled and stood up from his chair. "Would you three care to join me?"

"No, thank you." Tucker replied standing up as well, wincing when the weight landed on his ankle. "We have to get going."

"Oh, all right then." Mr. Lancer said, giving us a smile. "It was good to see you guys again. And Foley, it's good to see you walking. And it's good to see you back on your feet emotionally as well."

Tucker scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you know every day's a struggle…but Jazz keeps me motivated. And for the main part, I have a good life…"

Mr. Lancer nodded. "Well, don't wait so long next time to come and visit me."

Tucker shook his hand and the three of us left.

"So, where are we going now?" Sam asked as we walked down the steps.

"Why don't you pick, Danny? Sam and I have both picked somewhere." He said.

"How about we get something to eat? Are there any good restaurants around here, Tuck?" I asked.

"Yeah, several. In fact, I know just the place." He grinned as he continued hobbling toward the car.


	26. Chapter 26

"What's the name of this place?" I asked.

"It's called 'Dungeon Horror'. It's like a themed restaurant. Sam you'll love it, it's very goth." Tucker laughed.

"Umm...Tuck, I don't know if you know this or not...but I'm not goth anymore." Sam said.

Tucker turned around and glanced at her. "Right...sorry, I forget."

"So where else is there?" I asked.

"I mean, we could still go to Dungeon Horror." Sam said. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not a goth anymore."

"No, it's all right." Tucker replied. "Really, it's not a big deal. There's a lot of other options for us to choose from."

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked.

We climbed into the car, slamming the doors behind us.

"Ok, how about we just hit a fast-food joint? You know, like we used to?" He asked.

"That's fine with me." I replied.

"Fine, but where are we going to go after we eat? I don't really think that counts as something that Danny chose." Sam said. "I mean, we were going to eat regardless of whether or not he picked it."

"Hey, now, don't force me to pick a new place." I said, giving her a glare.

She laughed. "Come on, Danny. It's not even a real place. We're going to get something to eat, then you're going to pick a real place."

I sighed. "Do I have to?"

Sam looked to Tucker.

He started the engine. "Yeah, I kind of agree with her man."

"That's great." I replied, pretending to sulk.

"Oh, come on, Danny. We both picked a place. This is fair and square." Sam said.

I rolled my eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine…"

Tucker laughed. "Same old, Danny."

I grinned. "You know it."

"Now, let's get some grub." Tucker said.

We ended up going to a fast food place like Tucker wanted.

The food there was actually pretty good. Although their Philly Cheese Steak was nothing like a New York one.

Tucker said I was just being high-maintenance.

"Whatever." I responded. "You don't know good Philly Cheese Steak, until you've had a New York one."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The rest of the meal passed in comfortable silence.

When we were finished, Sam turned to me as we stood up from the table. "So, where do you want to go?"

I had half a mind to say, 'New York', but I decided that I didn't want to see that same look cross Sam's face again.

"How about we go see your old house?" I asked, then turned to Tucker. "Is it still standing?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but it doesn't look the same."

"Oh, ok." I replied, then shrugged. "We don't have to go there."

"Nah, it's cool. I want to." She said, pushing the door open and walking outside.

She hugged her coat around her tighter and jogged toward Tucker's car.

"Man, it's getting colder out here." I said to him.

Tucker nodded, his face one crossed with determination and pain.

"You all right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied.

"Ok…" I fell into step with him and I was pretty sure that he was going to tell me to catch up with Sam.

But instead, he glanced at me, shook his head, then continued on toward the car.

"So, how have you been since re-starting rehab?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Like I told Lancer. Every day's a struggle, but I have a good life for the main part."

I nodded and as we reached the car and he put his hand on the door handle, I swallowed and blurted it out.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't here to save you or your parents." I said.

His hand dropped from the door handle and slowly, he turned to look at me.

"What did I tell you earlier?" He asked.

I wracked my brains, coming up empty. "I don't remember."

"Wow, you really took it to heart." He replied, sarcastically.

"Sorry."

He sighed. "I told you that feeling guilty over what has happened to me or the members of this town isn't going to make it better or erase what happened. I said what's done is done and to stop wondering 'what if' scenarios. Because those don't help anyone, least of all your fiancé."

I sighed. "I know all that."

"Really? Because you aren't acting like it." He said.

I heard Sam slam the car door as she got inside.

"Everywhere we go, you find a new reason to feel guilty. A new reason as to why this town's destruction is your fault. Danny, no one expected you to play hero forever." He said.

"Did you even see the picture on Lancer's wall?" I demanded.

"What?" He asked, a confused look crossing his face.

"The picture, on Lancer's wall. It was of the city in ruins." I replied, feeling a lump in my throat.

"Like I said, none of that is your fault." He opened his mouth to say more, but I cut him off.

"How is it not my fault?" I demanded. "I had the power to stop these ghosts and you know what I did? I ran and hid because I'd had a fight with my parents."

"Danny, that wasn't just a fight. They tried to kill you!" He yelled.

I stood there in stunned silence. "I didn't…I didn't know that Jazz told you that part."

He took a ragged breath. "Yes. She told me everything, man."

I swallowed.

"Listen, what your parents did, was wrong. But you running off like that wasn't wrong. No one expected you to stick around after what they did to you." He said.

I sighed. "I expected me to stick around. I mean, come on, after I left, who was I leaving the town to? My parents? The mayor?"

"They didn't know how to fight them like I did. I had four years' experience fighting these things. And I left because I couldn't handle a little bit of tension between my parents and me." I crossed my arms. "You know it's true."

"The only thing that I know for truth is this: I'm going to kick your ass if you don't hear what I'm saying." He said.

"Fine, what are you saying Tuck?"

His mouth hung open. "You…you're not…?"

"I'm waiting." I replied, narrowing my eyes.

He stood up straighter and snapped his mouth shut.

"Believe whatever you want to believe, Danny. But I'm telling you right now that none of what happened here was your fault." He said.

"I can't believe that." I said, yanking open the door and climbing in.

"Because it's not the truth." I added.

He stared at me as I closed the door.

I knew that he was probably upset but the truth was the truth. If I had never left, the inhabitants of the city wouldn't be terrified of breathing anymore.

If I had never left, Tucker wouldn't be crippled.

If I had never left, things would still be normal.


	27. Chapter 27

I leaned against the seat, my eyes closed.

I knew that Sam had to have heard our argument but surprisingly she didn't say anything.

The car door opened and Tucker climbed in.

I could tell Sam wanted to ask where we were going next but she didn't.

She just sat there staring in between me and Tucker.

He started the car.

I looked out the window, thankful that we were driving in silence.

Tucker kept glancing in the rear-view mirror.

I recognized the streets getting darker and darker. The buildings became more and more ruined.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked Tucker when the buildings got to be slightly depressing.

He didn't say anything. He didn't even look in the rear-view mirror again.

He just kept driving so I looked back out the window and sighed.

Sam took my other hand and gave it a squeeze.

I looked out at the destroyed city and felt a twinge of anger inside me.

The ghosts that I had been fighting my whole high school life, destroyed the place where I grew up.

It wasn't fair to me or to my town. I'd given up my high school years to hunt these things down and as soon as I leave, they invade?

It almost seemed…planned.

An idea hit me and I sat upright, my breathing quickened.

"Danny? Is everything ok?" Sam asked, tugging on my hand.

I saw my reflection in the window. Further back was Sam's worried face.

I wanted to say something to her, anything to get her to stop worrying, only…I couldn't make my tongue work.

I couldn't tell her not to worry, because inside, I was flipping out.

"Danny?" She asked again.

I nodded.

Of course it had been planned. Why hadn't I seen it before? The kind of destruction that this town faced wasn't some random act of ghosts.

My parents had to be smart enough to close the portal once in a while…

I was so deep in thought that I was startled when I realized that the car had stopped.

"Get out." Tucker said, swinging open his door.

Sam opened her door and stepped out.

I did the same, taking in my surroundings.

I'm not sure why, but Tucker had driven us into the middle of a field.

Withering trees and dead plants surrounded us.

"Tuck, what are we doing here?" I asked, looking around.

His back was to us as he took further steps into the field.

Sam and I followed at a slower pace.

"Danny, this is really more for you than for Sam." He called over his shoulder.

"Why?" She asked, glancing at me.

"Because I need to say something to him. And I'm pretty sure, that this is the only way that he's going to listen." He said, turning around and fixing me with a stare.

I swallowed. "What's up?"

"I've been trying to tell you this for quite a while and you refuse to accept what's true." He said.

I waited for him to start talking again.

"Look around you, Danny. What do you see?" He asked.

"Tucker, I don't know. Dead things." I replied.

He chuckled. "No, seriously. Do you see the damage that's been done here? Due to aging and climatic weather changes?"

"Sure." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes .

"Danny, I'm serious." His eyebrows were drawn down and he looked like he was getting annoyed.

I sighed. "Ok, yeah. I see the destruction that's been done here."

"Good. Now, do you know what happened here?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Climatic weather changes?"

He laughed and shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. I wasn't here."

I blinked. "Wha-"

"Oh, god! I could have prevented it if I had been here to water the grass!" He exclaimed, clapping a hand over his forehead.

My eyebrows drew down. "What are you doing?"

He smiled. "I'm being you."

"What?" I demanded. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"That's sort of the way you've been acting, Danny. Regardless of what happened here, you weren't here. So, no, you couldn't have prevented it." Tucker said.

What he was saying sort of made sense.

A blush crept onto my face as I scratched the back of my head.

"Umm…ok." I replied.

"I'm being honest, Danny. You don't realize how you sound sometimes. You sound like you're blaming yourself for thing that you have no control over. Like global warming or puberty." He said.

I swallowed. "Well…"

"Just admit you have no defense, and that I'm right." He grinned.

I gave a sigh. "Fine…you're right."

"Great! That's the Danny I know." He hobbled back over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Now, are you going to shut up about all of this? Because it isn't your fault, and hopefully now, you know that."

I scratched the back of my head again. "Yeah, I know that now."

"Good. Now, where do you guys want to go?" He hobbled back to the car.

I glanced at Sam.

She took my hand as we walked back to the car.

Maybe Tucker was right. Maybe all of the destruction wasn't my fault .

Suddenly, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

The entire town in ruins wasn't my fault.

I felt lighter as I walked toward the car with Sam, even giving her hand a squeeze.

She smiled at me as we got into the car and as soon as I was seated, she grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me into a kiss.

When she pulled away, a smile still lingered on her lips.

"That's for being an amazing guy, Danny Fenton." She said.

I kissed her again. "That's for being an amazing girl, Sam Manson."

She snuggled up into my arms.

"Yuck. You two do realize that I'm right here, right?" Tucker asked.

We laughed and Sam pulled away from me.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"We're actually going back to your place, because Jazz texted me telling me that they need help setting up before the get-together tonight." He said.

"Oh yeah…" I replied. "When is that again?"

"That's in about…" He checked the digital clock on the dashboard that read '2:30 PM'. "four hours."

"Great." I mumbled.

In a way, I was looking forward to seeing what my old high school classmates had been up to.

But then again, I was going to have to face my parents and spend almost all evening with them…

That part, I wasn't looking forward to.


	28. Chapter 28

When Tucker pulled his car to a stop in front of the house, I had to take a deep breath.

Inside, waited my sister and my parents.

Even though I'd already somewhat 'faced' my parents, this time was going to be different.

In my head, I was screaming at myself to stay in the car, but my hand was opening the car door.

Within a second, my body was out, even though my mind was screaming at me to stay put.

"Come on guys." Tucker said, wincing as he walked up the steps.

Sam reached over and took my hand. "You ok?"

All I could think about was what Tucker brought up earlier. They'd tried to kill me…

My mouth felt like sandpaper. "Peachy."

She gave me a funny look and I looked away.

We climbed the stairs as Tucker rapped on the door.

After a few seconds, Jazz came to the door and opened it.

"Hi guys, come on in." She smiled at Tucker.

He winked at her and walked into the house.

"What can I help you with Mrs. Fenton?" I heard him ask.

He had disappeared from my line of vision as I climbed the rest of the steps and walked into the house.

Sam was right after me.

She took my hand again as we stepped into the house.

"You guys ready to work?" Jazz asked, grinning.

"Yeah, just give me a minute, ok?" I asked.

She nodded. "All right."

I squeezed Sam's hand. "Can you come with me for a second?"

She nodded and shrugged at Jazz as I led her to the stairs.

We ascended the stairs, then I led her to my bedroom.

"What's up?" She asked, the door still open behind her.

I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Tonight, during the party, don't leave me alone with them ok? Never."

She nodded. "That's not a problem, Danny."

"I'm serious, Sam. Please." I said.

"I know you're serious." She pulled me into a hug. "And so am I. I won't leave you with them, I promise."

I swallowed and leaned my head against her shoulder. "Ok."

"So, we're good?" She asked, pulling away. "Because did you see that massive cake on the table? I can't wait to dig into that!"

I laughed. "Yeah, we're good."

"Good." She squeezed my hand. "I meant what I said, Danny. I won't leave you alone with them, ok?"

I nodded. "Ok."

She let go of my hand and started for the stairs.

I swallowed.

When she was halfway down, she turned around and glanced at me. "You coming?"

"Yeah," I replied, heading for the stairs.

When we got back downstairs, I found Jazz rather than my mom.

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Well, there's table's in the garage that need to be brought in here so we can set them up and put food on them." She said.

I nodded. "Ok, I can do that."

"I was going to ask Tucker but…" She trailed off.

"It's ok, I understand." I replied, turning back to Sam.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek, then turned to Jazz.

"Don't let her in the kitchen. I remember what happened last time." I said.

Sam laughed and swatted at my arm. "Shut up."

I winked at her and headed to the garage.

When I got there, I realized that my father was already in there, grabbing tables.

He turned around, two in his hand, and he saw me standing there.

"Danny." He nodded.

I nodded back and walked over to the tables, grabbing three.

He narrowed his eyes as I passed him and headed back toward the house.

Once I was inside, I sat them down in the kitchen.

"Danny, you're home?" My mom asked.

I swallowed. "Yeah, I am."

"Oh. I didn't hear you come in." She said.

"Jazz let me in." I said.

"Oh." My mom replied.

"Yeah. I'm going to go grab more tables." I said.

She nodded. "Ok. Thank you."

"Yeah." I replied, heading back out.

I passed by my dad who was now carrying four tables.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and simply passed by him to get more.

There was only one left, so I took that one.

I tucked it under my arm and headed back inside.

"This is the last one." I told my mom as I sat it down. "What else can I do?"

Sam came into the kitchen with a wet cloth and started wiping off one of the tables.

"How about you set them up so Sam can wipe them down?" She asked.

That was fine with me. At least this way, I wasn't anywhere near my father.

Setting up the tables only took a couple of minutes and when I was done, I went to go find Jazz.

She was in the living room, moving a bookcase out of the room.

"Here, let me help." I said, coming over to the other side, lifting one side of it.

"Thanks." She said as we set it down inside a spare room.

"What room was this one?" I asked, looking around at the empty walls.

"This is the room that leads to the emergency ops center, remember?" She asked.

I swallowed. "There isn't an emergency ops center, anymore."

"No, I know that." She said, then sighed, pushing her hair out of her face. "Never mind."

"Have you seen Tucker?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, just a few minutes ago, actually. He was in the dining room, setting the table with decorations.

I nodded and exited the living room, headed to the dining room.

When I got into the dining room, I saw Tucker immediately.

"I didn't realize you were into interior design." I joked, leaning against the doorframe.

He turned around and gave me a mock-dirty look.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." He replied.

I laughed. "Ok, enough with the name-calling."

He nodded, smiling. "So, how have your first few days been?"

I shrugged. "Ok, I guess."

"Yeah? You going crazy yet?" He asked.

"What? Who…umm, why would you think that?" I asked.

He laughed. "Because it's written all over your face, dude."

I shook my head. "No, I just uh…I had a run-in with my dad the first night I was here and I've been trying to let it go and leave what happened in the past, in the past but…"

"But you can't, can you?" He asked.

"Not really." I replied.

"Look, no one expects you to let it go that easily." He said.

"But it's been five years." I said. "I should have by now."

"Even if your parents and your sister don't understand, I do and so does your fiance. That's enough right?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Danny?" My mom called from the kitchen. "Can you come here?"

"Yeah," I called back, nodding at Tucker as I exited the room.

"What do you need?" I asked, as I walked into the kitchen.

"Can you go outside and help your father cut some firewood?" She asked.

I swallowed, not sure how to respond.

For some reason, I answered. "Yeah, sure."


	29. Chapter 29

Author's Note: Just to let you guys know, I'm not sure when, but this story is almost finished. I think it should be done and wrapped up by chapter 35 or 36, but who knows? Maybe I'll have another brainstorm and add that to the story instead. After I complete this story, I have four more DP fanfics lined up to publish, so in the next chapter, I'm going to tell you guys the plot of the four stories and you guys can vote in the reviews section of this story, for the one that you want me to publish next. :)

I headed outside, clenching and unclenching my fists.

My father looked up when he saw me.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Mom wanted me to come help you." I replied.

His eyes narrowed. "Fine. Start on that tree."

He pointed to one that was smaller and had less branches.

I shook my head and grabbed the axe lying in the grass.

"I'll start on this one." I replied, swinging the axe into the trunk of a much bigger tree.

He made a noise and continued chopping up his tree.

Within seconds, beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and I paused to take off my coat.

I laid it down on top of a wheelbarrow so it wasn't lying in the snow.

After a few minutes, the tree that I was cutting was almost down.

It wobbled every now and then and I guided it into falling down on the snow behind the house.

When it fell, it made a rather loud noise and my father jumped behind me.

He glared at me as I turned my back to him.

I was quietly snickering as I started chopping up the tree into acceptable sizes of firewood.

"That should be all we need." My father sounded awfully close.

I turned to see him, not even a foot away from me.

"I haven't chopped anything yet." I said.

He shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean after that tree gets chopped, that should be all we need. Unless your mother's planning to party all night long."

"My mom? Party all night long? Doubtful." I replied.

He smiled. The first smile I'd ever seen him give me since I showed up.

So I smiled back at him.

"You know, you're probably right." He said. "With the way your mother parties, we may not even need half of that tree."

I laughed. "Probably not."

He was still smiling as he shook his head.

"Here," He handed me jacket so he could put his firewood into the wheelbarrow.

Small snowflakes had begun falling.

"You may want to hurry up and cut that tree up." He said. "If the snow starts falling any faster, you may not have time to cut it all up."

"But we're only going to need half, remember?" I joked, turning around to continue chopping.

I heard him drop the firewood into the wheelbarrow and after a second of silence, I heard him crunching on the snow, headed toward me.

He was beside me in a second, chopping one end of the tree with me.

I knew that I could handle it by myself, but I didn't want to upset him by saying so.

So I just worked side-by-side with him, and I can honestly say that nothing in the world, ever felt weirder.

My jacket was on the ground behind me as I worked.

Once we were finished chopping up the whole tree, I helped him load it into the wheelbarrow.

He had to pull it around to the back of the house and leave inside the porch because he said that my mom didn't want it inside.

"I don't know why she doesn't want it inside. Doesn't she realize that we'll have to go outside to get it?" He asked.

I shrugged.

He gave a sigh and started walking back toward the house.

"We should probably head back inside and see if your mother needs anything else." He said.

"Probably." I replied.

I followed him back into the house, glancing at Sam as I passed her by.

She was hanging up some sort of decoration.

"I don't know why we didn't do this sooner." Jazz was saying to her, tapping her chin. "A little to the left."

I walked over to Jazz. "What else is there to do?"

My father had already gone into the kitchen, I guess to talk to my mom.

Jazz looked from Sam to me and gave a shrug. "I'm not sure. We got the tables, we have to finish preparing the food-which I doubt you want to help with."

I laughed. "I'll pass."

"I can help." Sam replied, hammering a nail into the wall.

When she was finished, she hopped down and looked to Jazz and then to me. "How does it look?"

"Excellent." My sister replied. "Why don't we go start helping my mom prepare the food, huh?"

"Yeah, if you guys need me, I'll be in my bedroom." I replied, then added. "But try not to need me."

Sam laughed. "Lucky you."

"You don't have to help." Jazz replied, talking to Sam.

Sam shook her head. "No, it's ok. I really don't mind helping."

Jazz nodded. "Ok then, let's go."

The two of them left for the kitchen and I climbed the stairs, headed into my bedroom.

I sat down to read but quickly got bored.

So instead, I paced the room, thinking of what I was going to do during this party.

I could hide out in the upper part of the house, only talking to a few people. Or I could go downstairs and pretend like I'm enjoying myself…

Either way, I lost.

Sighing, I sat back down on my bed and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

There was a text from a friend mine back in New York.

He was asking where I was.

Oh great. I was supposed to meet this guy earlier today to talk business.

I got up and called the guy.

On the third ring, he answered.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hey, Derek." I replied.

"Danny?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry that I didn't meet you today, honestly, it completely slipped my mind." I said.

"Oh, that's fine. I know how busy you are, so I figured it was something like that. Although, I went to your apartment earlier to see if you were home yet, and your doorman told me that he hadn't seen you for a few days." He replied.

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, I'm in Michigan. Visiting family for the holidays."

"Oh, your crazy family you asked me to never ask about?" He asked.

"Yeah, them." I replied.

"Ok, I won't ask, but I do have another question." He said.

"What's that?"

"Is your girlfriend with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, man, and it's fiance remember?"

"Oh, right, I always forget." He said. "Well listen, since you're my buddy, I'll cut you some slack on the whole 'I totally forgot to tell you that I flew out of the state and I forgot to tell you that I was cancelling our meeting'. But only cause you're my buddy."

"Yeah, sorry about that." I said.

"No, really, it's not a problem. I can just have my assistant set up another date. All right? I mean it's not like our companies are joined yet, so it's not a big deal." He said.

"OK, all right. Thanks Derek, you're a good man." I said.

"Yeah. Thanks. Take care of yourself ok?" He asked.

"I will." I replied.

We got off the phone and I checked the time.

It was only four twenty…this day was going to last forever.


	30. Chapter 30

Author's note: ATTENTION: if you're not interested in voting for the next story I'm going to write, simply scroll past the numbers and the story starts. ;) For the rest of you, keep reading this. Like I said in my last chapter, I'm going to list the plots of the four new stories I'm working on and you guys can vote in the reviews section for the one you want me to publish after I finish this one. ;)

Danny Phantom Senior Year – basically a story that goes through Danny's senior year of high school, ending with his graduation.

Untitled – Danny and Sam have a short summer romance after high school, and they part ways for college. After Danny graduates college, he comes home and to his surprise, Sam has a son…that looks a lot like Danny.

Untitled- Its Danny's high school graduation and to make the day really memorable, he tells his parents about his ghost half. They're distraught at the news but tell him that it makes no difference that he's half-ghost. But when he wakes up the next morning, his ghost half is gone.

Untitled – This is like a sequel to Christmas Visit, it shows what Tucker went through after Danny left for college and the ghosts started attacking. It shows his struggle as he goes through rehab and begins dating Jazz.

Thanks for reading and please let me know in the reviews which one you want me to start working on next. Please enjoy the rest of Christmas Visit!

Derek and I were roommates back in college. When my business took off and I changed my major, he told me that he was studying to become a business major. He wanted to know how I had achieved my overnight success.

I told him step-by-step what I had done and when he needed a bit of cash for his startup fund, I provided it, asking nothing in return.

The two of us have been good friends since college, and lately the two of us have been thinking of merging our businesses.

That's what the lunch meeting was about today, we were supposed to look at all the differences between our companies and decide if it would be profitable to work together.

Regardless, I didn't make it to the meeting and we'd have to see if in the future we'd be able to work together.

The door opened and I turned around.

Sam was carrying two dry-clean bags.

"Here." She handed me one of them that contained a suit.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"There's apparently a dress code." She said. "Jazz loaned me a dress and Tucker loaned you a tux."

"Great." I replied. "I hate bow-ties."

She laughed. "You can ask him if he has a tie."

I shook my head. "No, I don't really want to seem picky."

"But you are picky." She replied, laughing.

She hung up her dress in the closet.

"What color is your dress?" I asked.

"It's a light grey." She replied, shrugging. "I'm just glad it's not pink. I would probably have to kill Jazz if it was."

I laughed. "You're not big on the whole pink color are you?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Not at all."

I grinned. "Come here."

She blushed and walked over to me.

I kissed her, lying down on the bed and pulling her on top of me.

She made a noise and ran her hand up my chest.

I kissed her again, moving to her neck.

"I love you." She whispered. "I love you so much."

I pulled her closer to me, running my hand up her side and resting on her back.

"I love you more." I whispered back, my lips returning to hers.

She moaned as I kissed her, sliding her hands further up onto my chest.

I heard someone clear their throat and I pulled away from Sam, glancing around the room.

My eyes settled on Tucker at the doorway.

He was trying not to stare, and his face was red.

Sam got off of me, sliding back down onto the floor.

Tucker cleared his throat again and finally looked back at us.

"Umm…I just came up here to tell you guys that Jazz asks you to get ready, please. Because guests will be arriving in about thirty minutes." He said.

I stood. "Right. Yeah, we'll be down soon."

He nodded, darting his eyes between us before exiting the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Sam covered her face with her hands and leaned into my chest.

"How embarrassing!" She said.

I smiled. "It wasn't that bad. It's just Tuck."

She parted her fingers so she could see me and gave me a look.

I laughed. "Sam, it's ok. I doubt he even cared."

"Fine…let's just get changed." She said, walking over to the closet, dropping her hands back down at her sides.

She grabbed her dress off the hanger and walked into the bathroom, leaving me to get changed in my room

I took the tuxedo that Tucker had loaned me off the hanger, and took my t-shirt off.

I put on the tux shirt instead and slid my arms into the jacket.

After I pulled on the pants part of the suit, I heard Sam at the door.

I was pulling up my zipper as she stepped inside.

"Hey." I said, grabbing the bow-tie for the tux.

"Hi, can you zip me up?" She asked.

I turned around and zipped up the back of her dress for her.

She turned around slowly, her beautiful eyes surveying me.

Her hair was out of her ponytail, falling on her shoulders in soft curls.

The front of her hair was pinned out of her way by a few small bobby pins and her lips were shiny with lip gloss.

"How did you do all of that so quickly?" I asked, loving the way she was looking.

She smiled, blushing slightly. "I guess I just get ready quickly."

"Well I love the way you look." I kissed her cheek and turned back around, facing the mirror.

"I don't know why there's a dress code." I mumbled.

She took a few steps closer to me. "So I can see you in that sexy suit of yours."

She kissed the side of my face.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked.

"Shoot." I replied, trying to tie the bow-tie.

She walked in front of me. "Have you stopped ghost fighting?"

My hands froze.

"Danny?" She asked. "Are you still fighting ghosts?"

I sighed. "I wouldn't say that I stopped. More like, I took a break."

She sighed and put her hand on my chest.

"Besides, there haven't been that many out near me since I left home." I said.

"Really?" She asked, crossing her arms.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I let a few go but usually that's because I didn't have a place to go ghost."

"That doesn't sound like the Danny Phantom I knew." She replied, uncrossing her arms.

I met her eyes. "The Danny Phantom you knew died the day my parents rejected me."

She paused and looked to the ground.

"The only thing that you have to know is this." I took her hand and placed it on my chest again. "You are my life now. Not ghost hunting or work or anything, ok? You are my life, Samantha."

"I told you not to call me that." She said, then looked back up at me, grinning.

I smiled as she looked back down to the ground.

"Hey," I pulled on her hand. "Hey."

She didn't respond.

"Hey, look at me." I pulled on her hand again.

She looked up at me.

"You are my life." I repeated.

"I know." She replied.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too. Daniel." She said, grinning.

"Oh, you are so dead." I replied.

She laughed and pulled away from me, just out of my reach.

"You think I can't catch you?" I asked.

"No, don't!" She squealed, and took off running around my room.


	31. Chapter 31

I did catch her and when I did, I picked her up in my arms and kissed her.

"We should probably go downstairs so no one walks in on us again." She said.

"Or…" I started. "We could lock the door and stay up here."

She gave me a look and I laughed.

"Fine." I set her down on the floor. "We can go downstairs."

"Good." She kissed my cheek and opened the door.

We headed down the stairs, and when we got into the living room, I saw my sister fixing Tucker's tie.

Apparently, he didn't have to wear a traditional bow-tie.

He looked up as I walked in.

"Oh good." He said. "I was worried that you two had forgotten the way down here."

"What do you mean? We weren't even up there that long." I replied.

He shook his head. "That's not what I mean. What I mean is, you two were making out so heavily I was afraid that you two were going to run out of oxygen and forget where you were."

I felt my face color as Sam gave a nervous laugh.

"Um…" She put her hand up to her head. "I…have no idea what you're talking about."

The doorbell rang and relief spread through me.

"Well, you avoided the witty remark. For now." Tucker laughed as Jazz walked over to the door.

"Come on in." She said.

I glanced at the doorway and couldn't believe my eyes.

Paulina Sanchez was actually here. In my house.

Sam was glaring at me as I laughed. "Sorry."

"I totally saw you checking her out." She hissed.

"I wasn't checking her out." I replied. "Honestly, I wasn't. It's just kind of surreal that the girl I pined after for a year is finally in my house."

"You say that like you want her." She replied.

Her tone was playful, but I could sense some doubt in her words.

"Sam." I fixed her with a stare.

"What?" She asked, avoiding my eyes.

"I'm not in any way, into Paulina anymore." I said. "I swear it to you."

She looked up into my eyes and I guess she saw the sincerity there because she nodded.

"Ok, I believe you." She whispered.

"Danny Fenton?" I heard Paulina's voice.

I turned to her and really saw what she looked like.

She looked pretty much like she did when she was in high school, the only difference was that she was about seven months pregnant.

I glanced at Sam.

Her eyebrows were raised, clearly shocked.

Paulina walked over to us, shrugging off her coat and shaking the snow out of her hair.

"Hi!" She said as she got near enough to us.

"Hi, Paulina." I replied.

"Ooh, I remember you from high school. You look so different!" She exclaimed, then glanced at Sam. "And you…where did all the black clothing go?"

Sam shrugged and laughed nervously. "I kind of ditched it during college."

"Really? That's sort of what I liked about you. You weren't afraid to ignore the popular trends and just wear what you wanted to wear." She said.

"You…liked me?" Sam asked, glancing at me. "No offense, but I was under the impression that you hated me."

"Hated you?" Paulina shook her head. "No, Sam, I never hated you. I was jealous of you because you got to be whoever you wanted to be. I mean, I'm sure that your parents probably didn't approve of what you liked, but at least you were happy, right?"

"Really?" Sam asked.

Paulina nodded. "Yeah, really. Didn't seem like I was jealous of you did it?"

Sam slowly shook her head. "Not really, no."

"Yeah…I never wanted it to come across like that." She said. "A popular girl jealous of someone who didn't fit in and didn't want to? Not exactly the average image of a popular high school girl."

"Oh." Sam replied.

Paulina nodded and protectively draped her arm over her stomach. "So, what did you do after high school?"

"I took up photography during school, and dropped out toward the end of my second year." She said.

Paulina's eyebrows went up as she looked at me. "Oh, and what did you do?"

"Nothing really, went to college. Started my own business." I replied. "What did you do?"

She patted her stomach. "Well, I had just started my second year of college and I met this incredible guy. We got married shortly after we met and we had a child together."

Paulina smiled. "I take you guys are married?"

"No, engaged." Sam replied, giving me a smile.

I wrapped my arm around her and looked back at Paulina. "Is that your first child?"

She shook her head. "Nope. This is my second. The first's one at home with my husband."

"Oh, ok." I replied.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" She asked.

The doorbell rang again.

I glanced at Sam. "I'm not sure, maybe about two years?"

"A little over a year and a half." Sam replied.

I nodded. "Yeah, a little over a year and a half."

"Fenton!" I heard someone yell.

I glanced up.

Dash was in the doorway giving me a weird grin.

I raised my hand in a small wave. "Dash."

He bounded over to me as Jazz shut the door.

"I can't believe this! You were the loser in high school and now you're like, really rich!" He exclaimed.

"Umm…yeah." I replied, not quite sure how to be receptive of semi-kind Dash.

"Anyway, I was thinking you and I should team up. It'd be profitable for both of our businesses!"

"You have a business?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's small right now. But as soon as word spreads, I'm going to have a slew of customers. Fenton, you'd be a fool not to combine businesses."

"What is your business?" I asked.

He swallowed. "Well, umm…it's sort of up in the air right now. I've been thinking that it could be a bakery or something. Maybe even an auto-garage."

I blinked. "You don't have a business yet you want me to sign with you?"

"That's the beauty of it!" He laughed. "If you sign with me, I'll let you pick what the business does!"

I glanced at Sam. "She was holding back laughter."

"Well…I'm on vacation right now, so my assistant can't schedule any meetings until the New Year." I said.

His face fell. "Oh, ok…"

I held back a sigh as I dug around inside my back pocket.

"Here. Why don't you call this number sometime in January and I can have my assistant set us up an appointment." I said.

His grin came right back into place. "All right!"

"Excuse me." Jazz said.

Dash glanced at her.

"Dash, I was wondering if you'd like a tour of the house." She smiled sweetly.

"Why not?" Dash slung his arm around her shoulder.

As she passed me by, Jazz whispered. "You're welcome."

I laughed. "Thanks."

The two of them left for the kitchen and the doorbell rang again.

"You want to get it this time?" Sam asked.

"Why not?" I laughed. "I'm thrilled to see what other freaks show up."

I opened the door and thought my heart had stopped.

"I don't believe you could qualify me as a freak, dear boy." Vlad grinned.

I heard Sam gasp behind me but I stepped aside.

"Come in." I said through gritted teeth.


	32. Chapter 32

I shut the door behind him and slowly turned around.

His sick grin was on his face.

"Will you excuse me?" I asked.

"Of course." He nodded, still smiling.

I exited the living room and as I passed by Sam, I told her that I'd be right back.

She nodded and I went into the kitchen.

My parents were standing there talking to Tucker.

He was saying something about Jazz.

"Could I talk to you guys?" I asked, glancing at Tucker.

My dad opened his mouth, but Tucker spoke first.

"Sure, I was just leaving. You haven't seen Jazz lately have you?" He asked.

"Last I saw she was dragging Dash away from me." I replied.

"Ah…excellent." He sarcastically said.

Tucker left the kitchen, leaving me alone with my parents.

I looked at my dad in particular.

"Why the hell would you invite Vlad?" I demanded.

My father's eyebrows drew down.

"Especially after I told you the truth about him." I added.

"Danny-" My mom started, but my dad cut her off.

"Your mother and I both invited him and we did it because we were under the impression that you weren't going to come this year." He said, his eyes narrowed.

"But still? After what I told you?" I asked.

He crossed his arms. "How can we be sure that we can believe you?"

My mouth hung open.

"Jack…" My mom said.

"Unbelievable!" I replied. "How about because I'm your son?"

He didn't respond, just continued glaring at me.

I swallowed. "Oh, wait. I'm not anymore, am I?"

My father rolled his eyes.

"You know what? I don't care anymore, have a great life without me." I snapped, stalking off.

"Danny, wait." I heard my mom call.

I was starting for the stairs, ready to pack my bags so Sam and I could leave but a thunderous boom shook the whole house.

I stopped and immediately started for Sam, my heart racing.

Sam was standing a few feet away, but I made it to her quickly.

"Are you all right?" I asked, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Yeah, I think so." She replied. "What happened?"

"I don't know." I replied glancing up toward the ceiling.

As I did, I saw Skulker disappear through the roof.

I let out a low growl. "I'll be back."

She nodded as I dashed upstairs.

Another thunderous boom shook the house.

"You think it's storming?" I heard someone ask.

I ignored the crowd below me and focused on the ghost above me.

As soon as I flung open my door, I changed into ghost and threw myself out of the window.

I hovered in the air for a second, trying to see Skulker.

Another boom sounded and I whirled around toward the sound.

"Ghost child." Skulker said to me.

I growled. "What do you want?"

He was only a few feet in front of me and he was in a giant metal suit this time.

"Let me guess, you've had some upgrades." I quipped.

He chuckled. "And apparently you've had some downgrades."

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Following you, what do you think I'm doing?" He asked

I hovered in the air, not quite sure what to do at this point.

"I need your help." He said.

"And why would I help you?" I demanded.

A knife flew from his suit, scraping my arm and embedding itself in.

I winced, and pulled it from my flesh.

"Because if you don't, I'll beat you. And you know I can because you're out of practice." He said.

"What do you need my help for?" I asked.

"There are almost no ghosts left in the Ghost Zone." He said. "They're all either locked away in Walker's prison or they're somewhere on your earth."

"Where does that concern me? I can't fly all over the world ghost-hunting." I said.

He stretched out his hand, holding out a box to me.

I flew closer to him, but kept my distance just to be safe.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I was offered a reward if I could round up a hundred and fifty ghosts in a week." He said. "My reward was this: Walker would let a prisoner go."

"And let me guess, you need him to free one of your parents, right?" I asked.

He shook his head and hit a button on the box.

A bright picture of Ember McClane showed on it.

"This is my wife, Ember." He said.

I almost gagged, but I resisted.

"She's pregnant with our first child and if I don't get her out of there, the child that's born in the prison will no longer be mine or hers." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"One of Walker's many rules. If a pregnant woman is caught doing something illegal or against the rules and is taken into captivity, the child that she gives birth to no longer belongs to her or the husband. The child is then taken from both parents and raised by someone Walker approves of." He shrugged. "It's not right, but it's the way it works in the ghost zone."

"Umm…so where do I come in?" I asked, scratching the back of my head.

"I can't round up that many ghosts in so little time." He said. "I know that you know where another ghost portal is."

"The one here is closed." I said.

He nodded. "My wife and I discovered that when we were trying to run away."

"There's only one left," I said. "It's located in Wisconsin. How are you going to get Ember out?"

"I'm planning on breaking into the prison, I've been watching the guard patterns for about four days now." He said. "Nothing ever changes. I have a thirty second opportunity to get in and get out."

He paused. "Are you positive that the portal is in Wisconsin?"

"Pretty sure," I replied. "It may have been closed."

"I need to know for sure." He said. "Is there any way that you could tell me the location of it so I can go and check?"

I nodded and rattled Vlad's address of the top of my head. "The last time I was there, it was still standing."

He nodded. "All right then, I'll check."

I turned around to fly off, but he stopped me.

"Ghost Child?" He asked.

"Yes?" I asked, turning back around.

"I also came to warn you…the ghosts that are loose have been informed by an, at the moment, unidentified source that you are still alive." He said.

I felt the confusion on my face. "What do you mean, still alive?"

He paused. "No one…told you?"

"Told me what?" I asked.

"The reason that the ghosts attacked Amity Park four years ago was to rid the earth of you…they're coming back for you, Phantom." He said.

So the destruction of the town was my fault.

Danny Phantom's fault anyway.


	33. Chapter 33

After Skulker disappeared, I went back into my bedroom and phased back into myself.

The jacket of my suit had a rip in it from where Skulker had cut my skin with the knife.

Blood oozed from it, and I couldn't find the first aid kit in the upstairs bathroom.

So I went downstairs and I saw Sam waiting for me.

She glanced up as I came down the steps.

"Hey," She said, then glanced up toward the roof.

As I got closer to her, she whispered. "What was that?"

"Skulker." I whispered back. "It's taken care of."

"How did he get out?" She asked, still whispering.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Sam glanced at my arm and her eyebrows drew down in surprise. "What happened?"

I looked at the cut, then back at her. "Long story. I couldn't find the first aid kit, though."

"Hang on." She replied.

She walked over to Jazz who was talking with Tucker and Sam tapped on her arm.

"Yeah?" Jazz asked looking at her, then glancing at me.

She looked back at Sam. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you guys kept a first aid kit in your house." Sam said.

"Of course we do. We started doing that after some of our parents inventions started going horribly wrong." Jazz said.

"Great, where is it?" Sam asked.

"It's in the kitchen cabinet, the one under the sink." She said.

"Ok, great. Thanks." Sam gave her and Tucker and smile and walked back over to me.

"Kitchen?" I asked.

"You know it." Sam replied, following behind me.

When we stepped into the kitchen, my father looked up.

I stared at him for a second, then lead Sam to the sink.

"Here, I'll get it." Sam said. "Take off your jacket."

I started unbuttoning my jacket. "So now I see your bossy side."

"Shut up." She laughed, crouching down in front of the sink.

I took my jacket off and I laid it down on the handle of the stove.

She grabbed the first aid kit and stood back up. "Let me see."

I held my arm out to her. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, right." She said, pulling my arm closer to her so she could examine the cut.

I could feel my father staring at us so I focused on Sam instead.

"Hmm…it's hard to really see it." She dropped my arm and set the first aid kit down on the counter.

She reached for the top button and started unbuttoning my shirt, removing the bow tie in the process.

I put my hands on top of hers, stopping her.

"Why don't we do this upstairs?" I asked.

"Why?" She asked.

I glanced at my father and he looked away.

I sighed. "Never mind."

She removed her hands and I started unbuttoning my shirt.

I handed her the bowtie when I finished unbuttoning all the way.

She turned around and put the bowtie on the counter, next to the first aid kit.

While she was turned around, I opened my shirt and shrugged it off.

Sam turned back around and stared at my chest.

I folded my shirt over and laid it down on top of my jacket.

"What…happened?" She asked, putting a hand gently on my chest.

I flicked my gaze toward my father, but he was gone.

A small sigh of relief flooded from my lips. "Long story."

Her eyebrows drew down and she tore her gaze away from the scar on my chest.

She met my gaze and stared at me. "Danny?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry, it's nothing."

She removed her hand from my chest and crossed her arms.

"What happened?" She asked again.

I sighed and looked at the floor. "Right before I left home, my father and I were in the lab fighting."

I glanced back up at her, then back down to the floor.

"He got angry, threw a beaker at me and it broke onto my chest. The liquid was meant to harm ghosts, not humans. Because I'm both, it couldn't go more than skin-deep." I looked back up at her and met her eyes. "I'm lucky this is all it did."

She didn't say anything for a few minutes. Just looked at me.

"Yeah…" I continued.

Sam pulled me into her arms.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"It's fine." I pulled away. "I'm over it."

She ran her fingers over the scar and winced. "It looks so painful."

"It was." I replied. "But it's done. It's over."

She swallowed and nodded.

"Just check out the cut so no one else has to see this, all right?" I asked.

She nodded again and took my arm back in her hand.

Just as she was starting to clean it with an alcohol wipe, Tucker came into the kitchen.

"What's going in here?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

His eyes must have caught the scar on my chest because he paused momentarily and gave me a strange look.

"What…uhh…what happened, man?" He asked.

"Nothing. I just got scraped." I replied, hoping that he was talking about my arm.

He glanced from me to Sam, who was still cleaning the cut.

Tucker nodded. "Ok. I just came in here to grab a soda for me and Jazz."

He went to the fridge and took two cans.

"I'll be out of your way now," He muttered, hobbling back toward the door to the kitchen.

As soon as he was gone, Sam put a band-aid over the cut and said that she was done.

"It doesn't need stitches." She said.

"That's good." I replied, sliding my shirt back onto my skin.

"What's with us getting injured here?" She joked.

I looked at the scrape on her forehead that was slowly healing.

"Yeah, it's pretty dangerous here." I replied.

"Maybe it's some sort of plot." She laughed, putting the first aid kit away.

She stood back up as I was finishing buttoning up my shirt.

"So what did Skulker want?" She asked, dropping her voice a few octaves.

I reached for my jacket and put it on. "He wanted to know where Vlad's portal is. I told him Vlad's address."

"Wait…Skulker actually wanted to go back into the Ghost Zone?" She asked.

"Yeah. He's breaking into Walker's prison to free his wife and unborn child." I said.

"Doesn't he know that Walker will kill him?" Sam asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I don't think he cares." I curled my arm around Sam, drawing her closer against my body.

"See, that's what us men do when our wives need us. We abandon all caution and go after our wives." I said.

She grinned. "I'm not your wife…yet."

"No, you're not but when you are…" I trailed off and kissed her lips.

She pulled away. "We should go rejoin the party."

"Why?" I asked. "I'd much rather hang out in here and kiss you."

The doorbell rang again as Sam handed me my bowtie.

"I'm not wearing this anymore." I dropped it back onto the counter.

"Fine." She replied, then reached up and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. "Much better."

I laughed. "So, seriously. Why do we have to go and rejoin the party?"

"Because if we don't the guests will get suspicious." She replied.

"Who's Skulker?" A voice asked.

I turned toward the person, and saw my father.

He stood staring at us, his eyebrows drawn down and his arms crossed.

I stood up straight. "Dad, he's uhh…it's a long story."

"I've got time." He replied.

Great, how could I tell my disapproving father that I'd just helped out a ghost?


	34. Chapter 34

Author's Note: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. I wish I had a good enough excuse, but I really don't. LOL. Thanks for sticking with this story anyway, and I promise future chapters to be uploaded quickly.

PS: The story is almost done! :D :D

"Yeah, well I don't." I replied.

His eyebrows drew down even further. "Make time."

"No." I growled.

Sam looked between the two of us and took my hand.

I clenched my jaw. "What do you want me to say?"

"Why not try giving me the truth, huh?" He asked.

"Don't even." I replied.

He continued to stare at me.

"If you don't mind, I have a party to rejoin." I pulled Sam along behind me, but as I got closer to the door, my father stopped me with his hand on my shoulder.

"I said make time." He replied.

"And I told you that I didn't have time." I snarled.

My father's eyebrows drew down.

He pulled his hand back a little and gave me a shove.

I felt my hands burning and I pulled my hand free from Sam.

I knew immediately that the burning was a sign of the energy beams forming.

"You better take your hand off me." I said, my teeth gritted.

He didn't take his hand off of me. He just stood there staring at me.

Silently challenging me.

In one swift motion, I used my arm to knock his hand off of me and I took a step backwards.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a party to rejoin." I repeated.

"I want to know who Skulker is." He said.

"No one that concerns you." I replied.

"Listen here, Daniel." His eyes were narrowed and he'd dropped his voice to a low hiss. "The last time a ghost was here, we nearly lost everything and everyone in this town."

He leaned closer to me. "Don't you dare be one of those ghosts."

I shoved him backward and as he struggled to regain his balance, I started toward him.

But Sam jumped in between us. "Hey, whoa. Don't do this, Danny."

I was focusing on my father, my rage growing in my chest.

He had regained his balance and was now glaring at me, his fists clenched.

"Danny, look at me." She put her hands on the sides of my face and pulled my eyes level to hers. "Look at me."

Reluctantly my eyes met hers and I saw the worry in her eyes.

Slowly, I let the anger that was coursing through me, exit.

I released a sigh. "All right. Let's go."

Sam figured it best if I didn't even look at my father at this point, so she took my hand and led me back out into the living room.

The door to the kitchen swung shut behind us and I released another sigh.

"You all right now?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Good." We walked around the living room and a few people from high school stopped us to tell us hi.

After we made it to the refreshments table, Sam handed me a glass of punch.

"Here, drink this." She said.

"Does it have alcohol in it?" I asked.

She laughed.

"Cause I could seriously go for that." I said.

She laughed again. "No, Danny. You'll be fine, I'm sure."

Being with her was easing my anger, but it was still there.

If I were to tap into that anger, I'm sure I'd be able to unleash my fury on my father.

But, there were too many innocent people around and besides…I was one of the good ghosts. I couldn't hurt my father.

That would only prove him right.

I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned around.

Kwan was standing behind us.

"Hi!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hi, Kwan." I said. "How are you doing?"

"Fenton! Manson!" He grinned. "Are you two together still?"

"We weren't together in high school, Kwan." Sam said. "We got together about a year and a half ago."

His eyebrows drew down. "I could have sworn…"

After he looked in between us, he shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "It's none of my business, forget it."

"What have you done since high school?" Sam asked.

He shrugged. "After college, I got a job in the city and I've lived here ever since."

"Yeah? What do you have a degree for?" I asked.

"I have a doctoral degree in music, so I've become a radio DJ. It's not the ideal job, but it's a step in the right direction. And besides, at least I'm working in music." He said.

"I thought you were going to play football for the NFL." I said.

He gave a sigh. "I was…unfortunately, after high school, I was driving home from a party and a drunk driver hit me."

Sam put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no!"

"Yeah. The car accident crushed my hip bone, preventing me from playing any type of sports in college." He replied, giving a small shrug. "It's not a big deal."

"I'm sorry, man." I told him.

Kwan shook his head. "Don't be. Things always happen for a reason."

"Or we give reasons for things that happen." I instantly replied.

He blinked and Sam nudged me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." I added.

"Oh. All right." He replied.

I heard my sister call my name and I looked in the direction I heard the noise come from.

She was walking toward us. "Can you come here for a second?"

I squeezed Sam's hand.

"I'll be right back." I told her.

She nodded, and turned back to Kwan as I started walking away.

I reached Jazz. "What's up?"

"Mom and dad want to talk to you. They're in the kitchen." She said.

My eyebrows drew down. "Do you know what this is about?"

She shook her head. "They didn't say."

I swallowed and walked past her.

"I'll go entertain Dash some more." She laughed.

I faked a laugh as I pushed open the kitchen door.

My dad and my mom were standing in front of the stove.

The bowtie I'd taken off earlier was still lying on the counter.

"I know you said for me to keep my stuff out of the kitchen, but that was almost eight years ago." I tried to make a joke.

My father flicked his gaze up to my face. "You have to get out of here."

"What?" I asked, a little taken aback.

"Your father's right, Danny. You can't stay here any longer." My mom said.

While I was trying to come up with a reason as to why they were kicking me out, my father said: "You're in danger."


	35. Chapter 35

I glanced between the two of them.

My father was still staring at me.

"What…are you talking about?" I asked.

My mom started talking, but my father shook his head.

"You're just going to have to trust us. Danny, you need to take Sam and leave tonight." He said.

I crossed my arms and fixed them with a stare of pure defiance. "I don't know about that. The last time I trusted you two, you almost killed me."

I saw a flicker of horror cross my father's face, before he set his jaw.

"Fine. You want to continue to put you and your girlfriend at risk? That's fine." He snapped.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, thinking that he had somehow heard what Skulker had told me.

About the ghosts coming after me.

"The government's Guys in White issued a monthly ghost screening on the whole town." My mom said and gave a sad sigh. "If they discover you, they'll kill you without thinking twice."

"But I'm human." I said. "They can't kill that part of me."

My father shook his head. "Don't even think about that for a second. Because they won't. They're not going to care that you're half-human also. All they're going to see is the ghost half."

I swallowed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I can't leave."

His eyebrows drew down. "And why not?"

I looked at my mom, then back at him.

They both had bewildered expressions on their faces.

I gave a sigh. "I just can't, ok? How about you trust me now?"

"You don't understand, Danny. If you stay here, you're going to die." He said.

'And if I don't stay here, there's a chance that you could die.' I thought.

I shook that from my head.

"I won't. I'll figure something out." I said.

My father gave an angry sigh. "You're not listening to what I'm saying. You can't handle this, Danny. They're going to get you and destroy you."

I rose to my full height, almost two inches on my father.

"No. You're not listening to what I'm saying." I clenched my fists. "I'm not the scared boy who ran away five years ago."

He opened his mouth.

"Don't." I snapped. "Let me finish."

He closed his mouth again, his eyebrows drawing down even further.

"I'm not going to run away from this." I said. "They're not going to get to me, because I have a plan."

I shrugged. "I _can _handle this."

He swallowed.

My mom cleared her throat and called my name in a teary voice.

"You're not invincible." She said.

"Mom-"

"No, listen to me." She said, crossing her arms.

I sighed.

"You have put yourself at risk time and time again during your high school years." She started. "There is no one here who expects you to do it again."

"Mom, just because-"

"No!" She yelled, uncrossing her arms and clenching her fists.

I took a step backward, surprised at her yelling. That was normally reserved for my father.

He just looked at her too.

"You're twenty-three years old, this is the first time I've seen you in five years." She took a shaky breath. "I'm not going to let the government take you away from me."

I thought about what she was saying. I really considered packing up and leaving with Sam.

"Stay in a hotel for the night, and come back in a few days." My father said.

I shook my head. "What if they decide to do a re-take?"

"We'll hide you." My mom added. "We'll do whatever we can."

My father nodded.

"You guys realize you're saying this, right?" I asked.

My parents looked at each other.

"You guys were the ones who didn't even want to help me in the beginning." I said.

My father crossed his arms but didn't say anything.

A first.

"Why would you want to help me now?" I asked.

"You're our son." My mom whispered.

I resisted the urge to say, 'Yeah, right!' just because they'd disowned me five years ago.

How is it they say it? Let bygones be bygones?

"So what are you going to do to avoid the Guys in White?" My father asked. "Turn invisible when they show up?"

"While that is an option." I replied. "I figured I'd just trick the results. You know, give an x-ray that's not from me."

"Who on earth are we going to use?" He asked.

"We'll use Jazz. We'll pre-x-ray her and then we'll modify the results." I said.

"You know how to do that?" My mom asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it won't take long. We'll just need access to a computer, a printer, a typewriter and a scanner."

"Not to mention an x-ray machine." My father said.

"Don't worry about that part, I've got that part covered." I told him.

"How do you know how to do all this?" He asked.

"I roomed with a med student in college, he talked all the time." I said.

"So that's the plan?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, we'll take care of it tonight. After the party."

My father nodded slowly, you're sure this will work?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Wait, how are you going to do about changing her x-ray to look more like yours? You can't take an x-ray of yourself, the ghost dna is possible to show up." She said.

I shrugged. "Not a big deal, I'll modify some old middle school photos and age them about ten years."

"You can do that?" My mom asked.

I nodded. "Technology is a wonderful thing."

Tucker's laugh sounded in the kitchen.

I turned toward the door. "Tucker?"

He laughed again. "You sound like me."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess so."

He snickered. "Anyway, Sam was looking for you. I told her that I'd go find you."

I nodded, then glanced back at my parents.

"So, I'll handle that and then I'll get back to you guys, ok?" I asked.

My mom nodded. "All right."

Tucker grabbed a cookie off a plate. "Is this chocolate chip?"

My mom nodded again. "Yeah, it is."

"Sweet." He replied and took a bite out of it.

As we left the kitchen, he turned to me. "What did they want?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Where's Sam?"

"She's in the basement." He clapped me on the shoulder. "See you later."

I left the living room and went down the stairs into the basement.


	36. Chapter 36

I descended the staircase into the basement.

When I stepped off the last stair, I looked up and saw Sam staring at the empty wall where the Fenton Portal used to be.

Her arms were crossed and her head was cocked to one side.

"I was wondering when you were going to come down here." I said.

She whirled around like I'd startled her.

I watched her breathe a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that."

I grinned. "How should I scare you?"

She tried to glare at me but cracked up.

I snickered and walked over to her. "I barely remember when I said that."

"I remember it. Some of those days are etched into my brain." She said as I pulled her into my arms.

"Yeah? Like which ones?" I asked.

She shrugged. "What did your parents want?"

"Nothing. Just asking how I was enjoying the party." I lied.

I hated lying to Sam but I really didn't want to drag her into the mess of dealing with the Guys in White.

As it was, I was going to have to convince Jazz not to tell Tucker.

Sam was giving me a look.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to tell me the truth now?" She asked.

I sighed. "It's just…some ghost stuff. It's no big deal."

"Did you tell them about what Skulker said?" She said.

I shook my head. "No, it's some stuff to do with the Guys in White."

Her eyebrows drew down. "What's going on?"

I shrugged. "It's nothing you need to worry about yet."

Sam pulled away from me and crossed her arms. "I want to know."

I sighed. "All right, fine. The guys in white do standard monthly ghost screenings on the remaining inhabitants of the town."

Her eyebrows drew down again. "They're looking for you aren't they?"

"Not exactly, but if they found me-or at least, the Phantom part of me-I'd pretty much be dead. Literally." I said.

So much for not scaring her.

Her eyes were bulged. "What?"

I shrugged. "I'm gonna handle it, Sam."

"How?" She asked.

"I've got it figured out, ok? I'm going to tweak an old picture of myself at middle school age and take one of Jazz's x-rays from this year and combine the two." I said.

"Are you sure that will fool the guys in white?" She asked.

"Yeah. Don't you remember them from when we were in high school? They were about as competent as a brick wall. And that's being kind." I said.

She gave me a small smile. "Yes. But that was five years ago. They're probably not the same government agents that they were back then."

"I know. But neither am I, Sam. I'm positive that this will work ok?" I asked, putting my hands on either side of her face.

She gave a small sigh. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Trust me, ok?"

"Ok. I trust you." She said, leaning back into my arms.

I pulled her against my chest and kissed the top of her head.

"We should go back upstairs." I said.

"Do we have to?" She asked.

I laughed. "I think so."

"All right." She linked her arm through mine and we went back up the steps.

When we got back to the party, I saw Vlad leaning against the wall close to the punch bowl.

He had a cup of punch in his hand and was smirking at me as he drank it.

I squeezed Sam's hand, my eyes on Vlad instead of her. "You want some punch?"

She looked over to where the punch bowl was a made a noise.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She whispered.

"I'll be right back." I said, my eyes still on Vlad.

"Danny…" She called but I slid my hand out from hers and walked over to the punch bowl.

"Brave move coming back home, Daniel." Vlad said as I stopped in front of the table.

I picked up a plastic cup, my eyes never leaving his, and filled it with punch.

"What are you doing here, Plasimus?" I hissed.

He chuckled. "Same as you. Catching up with old friends."

I gave a growl. "Don't play head games with me. Why are you here?"

"Because I'm secretly plotting how to bring your father down and humiliate him in the process and I'm trying to come up with a way to date your mother." He stood up off the wall and dumped his punch cup into the trashcan next to him.

"Is that what you want to hear?" His arms were crossed now.

"Is that why you're here?" I asked, putting the cup down on the table.

"No. Please, boy. Been there, done that." He smirked. "Besides, your father already has already been humiliated. All by himself."

I clenched my fists, feeling the burning sensation that comes with an energy blast.

Taking a few deep breaths seemed to help a little bit, but it didn't cure it completely. I could still feel the anger inside of me.

"Yes. Calm down, Daniel. Wouldn't want your energy beams going off in the middle of this party, now would we?" He grinned.

I gritted my teeth.

"You have heard about all the ghost attacks, I assume?" He asked.

I took another deep breath as I steeled myself for whatever he was about to say.

"Because if your powers were to suddenly mess up, you wouldn't have the Ghost Zone to disappear into." He was still grinning.

I calmly let out a breath.

"Listen very carefully, Plasimus." I started.

He raised one eyebrow and his grin faltered.

"I'm not the same boy that ran away five years ago." I said. "I'm faster, stronger and I could rip you apart with my bare hands."

His eyebrows drew down as his grin disappeared completely. "Is that so?"

I gave one nod. "Yes. And if you're smart, you're not going to get on my nerves. And if you're really smart, you'll leave me alone entirely."

I grabbed the punch cup off the table and walked back over to Sam.

He was staring at me as I walked away, and I could tell that he was warring with attacking me or not.

Whatever he decided, I was ready.


	37. Chapter 37

I clenched and unclenched my fists as I waited for Vlad to make a move.

"You ok?" Sam whispered.

I gave a small nod. "Yeah."

She took a small sip from her cup.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Turning slightly, I saw Vlad, leaning closer to me.

"Fine. I won't fight you here." He whispered into my ear. "But just so you know, I do intend on kicking your ass."

"You and what army?" I demanded, hissing through the side of my mouth.

He stood up straighter, but still whispered into my ear. "The ghost army."

I clenched my fists again and shrugged his hand off of my shoulder, turning to glare at him. "You were behind those ghost attacks, weren't you?"

He smirked. "Who did you think sent those ghosts after you in college?"

I gritted my teeth.

Vlad gave a small shrug, a smile still on his face. "But then I was informed that you hadn't even tried to fight back."

"That's because innocent people were around." I replied. "I wasn't going to show them what I was. Or get them hurt."

"People are never really innocent, Daniel. Honestly, have you listened to nothing I've ever said, hmm?" He asked.

He was doing this on purpose. Toying with me to get a reaction.

Well if he was looking for a reaction, he wouldn't get one from me.

I wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

"If you'll excuse me, my fiance and I would like to enjoy the rest of our evening." I took Sam's hand.

"Fiance? Big step, Daniel. Tell me, do your parents know that you're engaged?" He asked.

"That's not really any of your business is it?" I asked, pulling Sam closer to me.

He gave a small shrug. "Maybe not."

I led Sam behind me and walked away from him.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Daniel." He called.

I gritted my teeth and continued walking away from him.

The hand that was holding Sam's hand wasn't clenched like my other hand was.

I took a few deep breaths as we paused by the stairs.

Sam sat down on the steps and smoothed out her dress.

"You should go talk to Jazz." She said, wincing as she pulled on her shoes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. My shoes are a little tight."

I slid her shoe off and massaged her foot a little. "Better?"

She smiled. "Yes. Now go talk to your sister."

"Why?" I asked.

She set her punch down on the stair beside her. "Because. I want you to go ahead and get her to agree to take the x-ray so we can take care of that after the guests leave."

I gave a sigh. "I don't want to bring that up with everyone around."

"Then ask to talk to her privately and take her into the kitchen or something." She replied.

I saw Vlad across the room, his back to me.

Instantly, my anger rose again.

Who did he think he was? I oughta rip his head off just for walking through my front door.

I was surprised at how angry I really was, so I took another deep breath and nodded at Sam.

"All right, I'll go talk to her."

She reached out and squeezed my hand. "I love you."

"I love you too." I replied, giving her hand a kiss.

She leaned her head on her hand and watched me as I started walking away.

I looked back at her once and she smiled.

After making sure that Vlad was nowhere near her, I walked into the kitchen and saw my father, taking a sip of soda from a can.

"Have you seen Jazz?" I asked.

He nodded and set the can down on the counter.

"Yeah, a few minutes ago, she came in here with Tucker and grabbed a soda." He said.

I walked over to the fridge and opened it.

A case of Dr. Pepper was at the bottom.

My favorite drink.

I reached in and grabbed a can and pulled the tab up.

"Thanks, I'll go look for her." I mumbled.

"Danny?" He asked, as soon as I'd turned my back.

I turned back around. "Yeah?"

He fidgeted with his wedding ring for a minute. "It's uhh…"

For a second, he glanced down at his wedding ring, then back up at me.

"It's good to have you here."

I gave him a small smile. "It's good to be here."

He nodded and I exited the room.

As weird as that was, I didn't think anything of it.

Maybe he was letting it go.

Besides, I hadn't done anything wrong, right?

I walked back into the living room, drinking the soda.

Sam looked up as I passed by her.

"Found Jazz yet?" She asked.

I shook my head and swallowed.

"No, not yet."

She shrugged. "Did you check upstairs?"

"No, but I will now." I replied.

She stood up as I walked up the stairs.

When I got to the bedrooms, I knocked on her door, then opened it.

No one was in there, so I shut it and I went to my room instead.

I knocked but there was no answer, so I opened the door.

What I found when I opened the door both horrified me and disgusted me.

Tucker was lying on my bed, with Jazz on top of him.

Her lips were against his, and his hand was steadily moving up her back.

Jazz's shirt had been discarded onto my floor and Tucker's hat had fallen off onto my bed.

I made a noise like a dying cat and slammed my door shut again.

Jazz swore and I took a deep breath, turning my back to my bedroom door.

I grabbed my temples in either hand and began rubbing them.

Just as I was wondering if it was possible to wash out your eyeballs, the door opened and Jazz came out.

"It's not what it looks like." Tucker said.

I turned around and saw Jazz nudge him and give him a look.

"What he means is, nothing was going to happen." She replied.

"On my bed?" I asked, my voice higher than normal. "Why? When you have a perfectly good one right next door."

She looked at the floor. "Sorry…"

"Ooh, some guests are leaving." Tucker said.

I glanced behind me and saw my mom waving goodbye to some people who were leaving.

I turned back around and cleared my throat.

"That was the most disgusting thing I think that I have ever seen." I said.

Tucker laughed and Jazz nudged him again.

He put his hat back on and grabbed his cane from the doorframe. "What?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry. We'll use my bed."

I made another noise like a cat.

"Here? While there are people downstairs?" I asked, my voice going higher and higher every time I spoke.

Tucker glanced at Jazz, then back at me.

"Ohhh…" He said like he suddenly comprehended something.

"What?" I asked, my voice returning to semi-normalcy.

"Nothing." He shrugged, but he was grinning.

"No, seriously. What?" I asked again.

He gave a small laugh and glanced at Jazz again.

"You haven't…have you?" He asked.

"Have I what?" I asked.

He laughed again. "You haven't."

"Haven't what?" I demanded, getting pissed.

He gave a small chuckle. "You haven't done that with Sam have you?"

I felt my face color instantly. "What are you talking about?"

Tucker was grinning. "Dude, don't make me say the words. Cause I will."

My face was still red and by now, Jazz was chuckling.

"You know what? I'd hazard a guess to say that you haven't done it with anyone. At all, ever." He said, watching my face for a reaction.

I guess he got the one that he was looking for because he started laughing again.

"Will you two grow up?" I demanded my face still red. "I've been busy running a multi-million dollar corporation. I haven't had much time to myself."

Jazz shrugged. "Makes sense."

Tucker gave me a shrug too, but his grin was still in place.

"Whatever you say man." He winked and grabbed Jazz's arm. "Let's go."

I watched them walk away in horror and fascination.

I didn't understand how they could give everything they had to each other.

What made them trust each other so much? I didn't trust Sam that way…of course, I would never tell her that.


	38. Chapter 38

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay in updates. I recently started Camp Nanowrimo (for more information on what this is, visit www . nanowrimo . com) and I've been backed up with regular fiction writing. Also, I run a DP blog called 'thatdannyphantommoment . tumblr .com' and I've been backed up trying to take care of that. I appreciate all of you waiting and I ask that you review this chapter and tell me what you think. Thanks!

* * *

Shaking that thought out of my head, I walked back down the stairs, not ready to talk to Jazz yet.

"She wasn't up there?" Sam asked when I reached the bottom of the steps.

I shook my head. "She was but she couldn't talk."

Her eyebrows were drawn down. "Is everything all right?'

I nodded. "Yeah, it's all good."

That's pretty much how the rest of the party went. We'd bump into old classmates and say hello, then we'd move our way through the crowd until we got stopped by another classmate.

Eventually people started leaving and I was the one who closed the door behind the last guest.

Sighing, I leaned against the door.

My father was in the kitchen talking with my mom and in one corner of the living room, my sister, Sam and Tucker stood talking.

I crossed the room to the three of them.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" I asked.

Tucker grinned at me. "Nothing, just entertaining your girlfriend here."

Sam smiled and me and took my hand.

I squeezed her hand and looked at Jazz.

"Can we talk?" I asked.

Jazz glanced at Tucker then back at me.

She gave a shrug. "Sure."

I squeezed Sam's hand again. "I'll be right back."

I led Jazz down the stairs and into the basement.

"So what's up?" She asked as she stepped off the bottom stair.

I turned around to face her.

"Would it be possible for you to give me an x-ray of yourself? I can modify it to look like me, but I can't give the Guys in White a real x-ray of myself." I told her.

She looked confused for a minute, so I said: "Remember, the guys in white do monthly ghost screenings?"

She nodded. "Right, of course. I forgot. Yeah, it would probably be possible. How recent does it need to be?"

"This year would be the best." I said. "It'd be easiest for me to modify a recent one, rather than an older one. That way, I won't have to age the x-ray."

She ran a hand through her hair. "Ok…umm, but Danny? I'm a female, and I have female organs. How are you going to modify that?"

"Don't worry about it." I said. "I promise I have it under control."

She swallowed. "Why don't you use one of dad's? He's a male."

"I know, but he's a lot older than me and it'll be harder to modify something like that." I said.

She bit her lip. "So I guess mom's out of the question too, then."

I nodded.

"So, umm, why not use Tucker?" She asked.

I let out a sigh. "First of all, he doesn't have the same DNA that you and I share. Second, he's…"

I trailed off, hoping that she'd get the hint but she looked up at me, questioning.

I sighed again. "He's crippled. It'll show up on the x-ray and the Guys in White will question it."

"Oh." She replied softly.

"Yeah." I replied.

She ran a hand through her hair.

"Ok. I can probably give you one tomorrow." She said. "Aren't they doing the testing then?"

I shook my head. "I mean, they are. But I can't wait that late. I may not have time to switch out the x-rays."

She swallowed. "Ok, how are we going to get one tonight then?"

"I'm going to take a picture of you with my digital camera and we can change the effects to x-ray." I said.

"Wait…you can x-ray me from your digital camera?" She asked.

I nodded.

"That must have cost you a fortune." She replied, staring at me in awe.

I shrugged. "A few grand. Nothing really."

She swallowed. "But, yeah. We can take a few pictures whenever you're ready."

"Great." I replied.

As she turned to go back up the stairs, I called her name again.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning back around.

"Just…don't tell Tucker." I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Danny, it's really not that big of a deal."

I cracked my knuckles nervously.

Jazz sighed. "But if you insist, I won't say anything to him."

"Thanks." I muttered.

She walked back over to me and pulled me into an embrace.

"It's been really good having you back for a little while, Danny." She said as she pulled away and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I nodded, not really sure what to say. I didn't want to lie and go for the cliché 'It's good to be back' scenario.

Because that would imply that I would like to stay longer.

And as soon as those two weeks were up, I was getting the hell out of dodge.

She went up the stairs and after a few moments, I followed her.

Ready to plaster another smile on my face.

When I got to the top of the stairs, Tucker had his arm around Sam and Jazz.

The two girls were laughing at something I must have missed.

"What's going on?" I asked them.

Tucker glanced in my direction and removed his arms from the two girls, taking his cane back from Jazz.

"Hey, man." He said, giving me a nod. "We're going in here to play a few games. You interested?"

I checked the time on my phone.

Only seven twenty.

"Dinner won't be ready for another forty minutes." Jazz offered.

I bit my lip. "All right, a few games. What are we playing?"

"Strip poker." Tucker said.

I hesitated. "Er…what?"

He laughed. "No, not really. But you should have seen your face."

I gave an awkward laugh and Jazz mouthed. "I'm sorry."

Sam fell back behind the two of them and took my hand. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's just a few games."

As I walked into the dining room, I almost choked over my soda.

"Ah, Daniel. Come to play a few rounds?" He asked, throwing in a poker chip into the center of the table.

My mom and dad sat on either side of him.

My father sent me a cool stare.

"Son." He said.

"Father." I replied, swallowing back bile as I looked at Vlad.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked.

"They didn't tell you? I'm staying for a few days. Your father insisted." He said, grinning.

I glanced at my father, his eyes were on the cards in his hands.

"So he did, did he?" I asked.

"Come on, Daniel. Why don't you join us for a few games?" He asked.

I closed my free hand around my soda, feeling the metal cut into my skin.

Sam squeezed her hand around my other one.

"It's ok. We don't have to play." She said.

I swallowed. "It's fine."

Vlad grinned as I turned back to him.

"All right. Let's play a few games." I said.

Vlad didn't know what hell he'd just unleashed by challenging me to play. I'd make sure that he'd never forget coming to my house this Christmas.

I'd make sure that he regretted it and that he never came back.


	39. Chapter 39

I yanked out my chair rather roughly and sat down next to Jazz.

"Come on, let's just go." Sam whispered to me as she sat down.

I squeezed her hand and whispered back.

"It's fine."

She sighed and took her hand from mine.

Vlad gathered in all the poker chips and divided them out equally between the seven of us.

"All right, I'll deal first." He said.

His eyes weren't leaving my face, so I held his stare.

Finally, he had to look down at the cards so he could shuffle correctly.

I broke the stare once he looked away. I looked at Sam.

She had a disapproving look on her face when I looked at her.

Sam was acting like she was angry with me for challenging Vlad.

In all honesty, I felt a little childish challenging him, but then again…he was sort of challenging me.

Wasn't he?

He dealt out a hand to us.

"Ante's up to twenty." Vlad told us.

I grabbed the correct chip and tossed it into the center of the table.

Sam followed suit, resigned to watching me best Vlad.

He stared at me until I glanced down at the cards on the table.

I picked them up and glanced at them. Not too bad of hand, but it wasn't the greatest.

After I glanced at Vlad, I realized that he was either faking the look on his face or his hand really stunk.

Either way, I decided to hang on.

After everyone had gone around the table bidding, it was time to deal out the second set of cards.

I watched Vlad carefully to make sure that he wasn't cheating.

He smirked when he noticed that I was watching him.

I scoffed and looked away from him and instead, I looked at Sam.

She was giving me a glare.

"What?" I asked, my voice low.

"Could you challenge him anymore?" She demanded. "Seriously, you're acting really childish about this."

"Sam, this guy tried to waste me dozen of times. Can't I have a little fun with him?" I asked.

She took my hand. "Fun? Yes. Getting him angry enough to waste you? Not so much fun."

I leaned closer to her, my lips brushing against her ear.

"Trust me, I can take him." I whispered.

She turned her mouth toward my ear. "Trust me when I say this, he's still a lot bigger than you are."

I gave a sigh. "Fine, I'll cool it."

Just as Tucker glanced over at us to make sure that everything was ok, Sam looked back around the table, smiling like nothing ever happened.

I glanced down at my cards and laid three face down.

"I need three more." I said.

Vlad dealt around the table, giving everyone their extra cards.

I glanced at my hand and winced.

"I fold." Tucker said and threw his hand on the table.

My mom put her cards into the middle of the table.

"I literally have one of everything." Jazz said, placing her cards on the table as well.

Sam laughed and put her cards down onto the table.

"All right, I'm out. I'm man enough to admit that." My father said, dropping his cards into the pile that had been created in the middle of the table.

I looked up and realized that Vlad was staring at me.

A small smile was pulling at the corner of his mouth so I gritted my teeth and I threw in a poker chip.

"Twenty." I said.

Vlad glanced at his pile, then threw in three poker chips.

"I see your twenty. And I raise you a hundred."

I hesitated.

"I see your hundred." I said. "And I raise you forty."

He smirked and threw in the forty. "Fine. I see your forty and I call."

Effectively ending the bidding period.

I glanced back down at my hand.

"I called, so I'll show first." He said, laying his cards down onto the table.

He had two aces and a king high.

I smirked and laid down my hand. Three jacks.

His cool demeanor faltered for a moment before he gathered up his cards and the rest of the deck.

"Is anyone up for a second game?" He asked.

Before I could say anything, Sam grabbed my hand underneath the table.

"I would love to! But unfortunately I forgot to get some stuff at the store today." Sam gave an apologetic smile to my mom. "Will you excuse us?"

I realized that Sam was trying to get me away from Vlad and I started to say something but she shot me a look and I shut up.

I realized that Sam was trying to get me away from Vlad and I started to say something but she shot me a look and I shut up.

"I'm sorry." She repeated. "I didn't realize that I was going to need some stuff that I didn't pack."

My mom made a motion with her hand and Sam nodded.

"Yeah." She replied and stood up, talking hold of my hand again.

She turned her beautiful face toward me. "You wanna come with me?"

I stood up. "Yeah, sure."

As we exited the dining room, I heard Vlad say: "I hope he doesn't trip over that short leash."

I gritted my teeth and Sam held my hand tighter.

She stopped at the door to grab her purse and our coats.

I heard Vlad say something else along the lines of. "Honestly, Jack, do you think the boy could learn to grow a backbone? He doesn't need a girl to make all his decisions for him."

I clenched my free hand into a fist, and I almost went back for him, but Sam pulled me out the door before we'd even put our coats on.

As soon as the cold air hit me, I unclenched my fist and took a deep breath.

"I should go back in there." I said.

"No you shouldn't." she snapped, shoving my coat into my hands.

"Why not?" I asked, pulling it over my arms.

She scoffed. "Danny, why would you sink to his level? Your parents know what you are. If you let Vlad bait you like this, it's only going to make you want to attack him."

"Sam, I'm not-"

"And then," she raised her voice to talk over me. "Then, all your parents will see is you attacking their old college buddy."

I sighed. What she was saying was making sense.

She waited while I stared off into the distance.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

I sighed again. "I think that you're right."

Sam raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip. "Really?"

I scoffed. "Sam, you're acting like this is all my fault. What about his part in this?"

She crossed her arms. "Vlad's an ass, Danny. We already know this. So him walking in there tonight, we already knew he was going to be an ass."

I released another breath and watched it swirl in front of my face in the cold night air.

"But you have grown into a responsible, mature man." she said, taking a step toward me.

"Let me guess." I replied. "But tonight, I didn't act like the responsible, mature man you know that I am."

She gave me a small smile. "No. You just let him get to you, that's all."

"Are you saying he knows where my buttons are?" I asked.

She laughed, and pulled me into a hug. "Yes, I am. I love you."

"I love you." I said and kissed the top of her head.

She held me for a moment longer, then pulled away and took my hand.

"Come on. We should get to the store." She said.

"Did you really forget something? I thought that was a cover to get me out of there." I said.

She blushed and shook her head. "No, I actually forgot something. Come on."

She pulled me along behind her to the car.


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note: Sorry that these updates are taking so long. Like I said, I'm writing my 50,000 word novel this month (I'm almost finished!). I'll be done by September first and then I can finish up this fanfiction! **

**Again, sorry it's been taking me so long. I'll try to update much, much faster after September first! **

* * *

When we got to the store, Sam took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Of course." I replied, leaning over to peck her on the cheek.

"Do you think your dad will ever think of you the same way again?" She asked.

I hesitated, then sighed. "No."

"No?" her eyebrows crinkled up. "Why not?"

"Because he spent his entire life chasing things like me." I replied.

We passed by a fake Santa who was ringing a bell.

"Money for the needy?" He asked, giving us a bright smile.

I reached into my pocket for my wallet, and pulled out a fifty.

I dropped it into the red bucket beside him and he put his hand on top of mine.

His gloved hand felt warm on top of my bare one.

"Bless you." He said, his eyes wider than they were a second ago.

"You're welcome." I mumbled and he removed his hand.

As I walked into the store, Sam fell into step beside me and snickered.

"You looked so freaked out." She said.

I chuckled. "Well you know I read all those stories on the internet about how serial killers dress up in costumes so their victim never sees them coming."

She laughed and a few other shoppers glanced over at us.

"So what are we here for?" I asked.

"Something chocolate, definitely." She said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sam, you didn't bring me here because you need...some things, did you?"

She blushed and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have brought you." She said, her voice muffled slightly by her hands.

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it, love."

She pulled away and looked up into my eyes, her hands resting on my back.

"How did I get so lucky?" She asked to me in a low whispering voice.

"I've been asking myself that same question for the past year." I replied and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Her lips met mine and it reminded me of our first kiss back in high school.

I had just changed back into myself after running from Valerie dressed up as the ghost hunter.

Sam dragged me down behind the bushes and pinned my arms down, her lips over mine.

I remembered struggling against her arms, but only because my hands wanted to run through her hair and down her back.

Only because I wanted to hold her closer to my chest.

We pulled away and the sounds of the store came back to me all at once.

With a sigh, I opened my eyes and gave Sam a smile.

"Come on." I said.

She dropped her hands back to her sides and I took one of them in my own.

"I love you, you know that?" She asked.

"I love you too." I replied.

She went down the aisle she needed to go down by herself. She didn't ask me to come with her and I didn't offer.

That aisle is no-man's land.

So I waited at the end, casually tapping my fingers on the handle of the shopping cart.

She came back within a few seconds and dropped a box into the cart.

"Ok, we're good." She said. "Let's go find some chocolate."

After we left the store and got into the car, Sam turned on the heater and glanced at me.

"What?" I asked, pulling out of our parking space.

"Is this x-ray thing really going to work?" She asked.

"What?" I asked, confused for a second, then I realized what she was talking about.

"Oh, the x-ray thing with Jazz?" I asked.

She nodded and bit her lip. "Yeah…"

"Of course it's going to work, Sam. I wouldn't do it if it weren't, ok?" I asked.

She released a breath and let go of her lip. "Ok."

I gave her a small smile. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm just worried about you. I just want to make sure that the Guys in White don't come and take you away."

I pulled to a stop at the edge of the parking lot, just before I had to turn. I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned close to Sam.

I put my hands on either side of her face.

"I promise you that I won't let them take me away from you." I said.

She gave a soft sigh and put her hand up to my face. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said.

When we came home, Vlad had "retired to his room for the evening" and Tucker had left.

Sam was holding my hand in one of hers and the bag in the other.

"We're home." I called out.

"We're in the living room, Danny." My mom called back.

Jazz was waiting at the kitchen table.

"Hey." She called out to me as I passed.

I turned around. "Hey."

"Can you come here?" She asked, standing up and motioning to the kitchen.

I nodded and turned toward Sam. "Be right back?"

"Ok." She replied and gave me a smile.

Sam never minded when I went off to talk to people alone. She knew that I would tell her what they said ninety percent of the time.

I kissed the back of her hand and released hers.

She walked into the living room and I walked into the kitchen.

The door swung shut behind me. "What's up?"

Jazz ran a hand through her hair.

She was pacing back and forth.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, taking a small step toward her.

She stopped suddenly and turned to me. "Don't be mad."

"About what?" I asked.

Jazz ran a hand through her hair again. "I can't let you x-ray me, Danny. I don't want to go into details, but you can't x-ray me."

"Jazz, why not? You're the only chance I have of staying in this town quietly." I said.

She let out a breath. "You can't x-ray because I'm pregnant."

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

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**Please review! **


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: I'm so sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this chapter. I know that I left last chapter on a bit of a cliff-hanger and I apologize for taking my royal sweet time writing this one haha. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it and if you do, let me know in the reviews! **

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"You're…you're what?" I asked, completely at a loss for words.

She covered her face with her hands. "I know, I know…Tucker and I have already discussed it…"

"Jazz…pregnant…how could…I don't even…" Apparently my ability to form a coherent sentence was lost for a few minutes.

"Tucker and I were going to tell mom and dad the day that you showed up. That's why he was coming over." She said, removing her hands from her face and taking a deep breath.

I swallowed. "Wow…"

"I know, I'm sorry." She whispered. "Don't tell them yet. Tucker and I want to do it together."

"Does he know that you're telling me?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Did you tell him why?" I asked.

Her shoulders dropped and she shook her head.

"No, but if I do, he'll understand, Danny." She said.

I shook my head. "He won't."

"He will. I know him, little brother. You haven't been around him much after high school. He's almost a completely different person." She told me.

I ran a hand through my floppy black hair. "I can't even think about this…"

"Are you going to tell Sam?" She asked.

I met her eyes. "I don't know yet. Possibly."

She sighed.

"Why? Do you not want me to?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Just don't let it get back to mom or dad."

I heard a noise behind me and turned around.

My father was standing in the doorway.

His large frame filled up the doorway.

"Everything all right?" He asked.

Jazz plastered a smile on her face. "Yep. Right, Danny?"

I faked a smile, almost sneering at her. "Yeah. Everything's good."

"You mind if I have a word with you, Danny?" He asked.

Jazz looked all too pleased to escape the room.

As she passed me by, she patted me on the shoulder and whispered: "Good luck."

The door swung shut behind her.

My father turned back toward me.

"What's up?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He gave a sigh. "Son, I know that this isn't what you want to hear…but your plan with Jazz isn't going to work."

'Of course not, she's pregnant.' I thought.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because she's a female, not a male. You're going to have to get an x-ray from a male." He said.

I swallowed. "Like who?"

He shifted his weight. "Me."

I cleared my throat. "Not possible."

He narrowed his eyes. "Just because I haven't been as supportive as you think I ought to have been doesn't mean-"

"Dad. I'm saying not possible because of our height and weight differences. Not to mention our overall structure differences." I replied. "And to top it off, you've had countless x-ray's done since they started doing this. There's no way that they'll just pass yours off as mine."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were going to edit it."

"I can only edit certain aspects of a photo, not everything. But some stuff, like height and weight differences are harder to edit than other things." I explained.

"Then who else are we going to get?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure."

"What about Tucker? Can't you edit out his…differences?" He asked. I could tell that his mind was where mine had been when the idea of Tucker being x-rayed in place of myself had been presented to me.

I shook my head. "Unfortunately his bone structure was corrupted when the ghosts destroyed his home and his family. No amount of editing will ever hide that fact."

He heaved a sigh. "I have an idea."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

My father met my gaze. "Do you trust me?"

I hesitated.

Because the answer that was on the tip of my tongue was 'no.'

Forcing my head up and down to tell him that I did trust him got the reaction I was hoping for.

He gave me just the barest hint of a smile, and nodded once. "Great."

"Then trust me and I'll talk to you about this tomorrow, ok?" He asked.

I opened my mouth and he shook his head.

"Trust me, Danny." He said.

I closed my mouth and nodded again.

He exited the kitchen and after a minute of staring after him, I left the kitchen as well.

"Hey." Sam called to me as I opened up my bedroom door.

I nodded at her and noted her sitting on the bed.

Clearing my throat, I pointed at the mattress.

"You don't want to sit there." I said.

"Why not?" She asked, glancing down at the bed.

I swallowed and cleared my throat again. "Because…uh, I found my sister and her boyfriend on this bed about half a second away from ripping each other's clothes off."

Her mouth dropped open and she got a sick look on her face.

She stood up and gave a bit of a shudder.

"I mean, they weren't doing anything. Just getting ready to." I told her.

She swallowed. "Yeah but that doesn't mean that they haven't before."

I almost threw up a little in my mouth. "That's…charming. Thank you for pointing that out to me."

Sam laughed. "Well, I'll go get us some new sheets."

I ran a hand through my hair and gave a yawn. "I'm going to go brush my teeth."

She nodded. "All right, I'll see you afterwards."

I stared at my walls for a few minutes until Sam came back in the door with fresh sheets and pillowcases in her arms.

"Danny, are you ok?" She asked.

I glanced at her, tearing my eyes away from my walls. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Ok." She looked skeptical so I went to the bathroom.

So much had changed in the past five years.

My high school room didn't look like it belonged to this version of me. Looking at me now, you never would have guessed that I was the same person back then.

I heard some thunder rumbling in the distance as I turned the facet on.

After squeezing some toothpaste onto my toothbrush, I brushed my teeth.

Once I was finished, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

There were lines underneath my eyes that were never there before.

Was I aging or was it stress? Stress can make you wrinkle, right?

Not that I was worried. Just something I noticed.

As I looked into the mirror, I slowly unbuttoned my shirt, staring at the scar on my chest.

It was ugly and it reminded me of my past.

There was a small knock on the door, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Danny, are you ok in there?" Sam asked.

Letting out a breath, I responded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be right out." I said.

"Ok." She replied.

I heard her footsteps fading as I turned to look in the mirror one last time.

I buttoned by shirt back up and I opened the door.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: I have no excuse this time. I forgot to write and I apologize. Please review! **

**Spoiler alert! This chapter ends with another cliff hanger ( though hopefully you guys will keep reading anyway :D ) **

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I opened the bathroom door and walked out into the bedroom.

I leaned against the bathroom door, just watching Sam.

She had a pair of knitting needles in her hands and a ball of yarn trailing off to the side of the bed.

After a second, she looked up at me and smiled.

She dropped the knitting needles onto the floor next to the ball, and beckoned me toward her with her hand.

I gave her a smile and started toward her.

She took my hand when I reached the bed and she put it over her heart.

"I love you." She said.

Her skin was warm beneath my fingertips.

"I love you too." I replied.

She closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the back of my hand, then opened her eyes. "You ready to go to sleep."

"Yeah," I replied and walked away, gently pulling my hand away from hers.

I walked to the other side of the bed and kicked my shoes off, giving a yawn.

"I'm so exhausted." I said.

"Me too." She replied and picked up a bottle of lotion from the side table. "Here will you help me with this? I can't reach my shoulders."

"Sure." I replied and she held the lotion bottle out to me.

I took it from her hands and squeezed some into my hands. "Why do you do this again?"

"Because it brings moisture back into my dry skin during the colder months. Don't you want me to look beautiful?" She asked.

I leaned down and kissed her shoulder, savoring the taste of her skin. "You already are."

She smiled. "Thank you."

I started rubbing the lotion into her shoulders and her back.

"Being back in this room does remind me of high school." She said.

"Hmm." I replied, concentrating on massaging her shoulders and neck.

"Ooh that feels good." She said and sighed.

I smiled.

She whispered something that I didn't catch.

I continued massaging her shoulders. "What was that?"

She giggled. "Nothing. Sorry."

I paused, dropping my hands back down into my lap. "Come on."

"I was just…repeating what you said the other day." She said.

"What did I say the other day?" I asked.

She blushed. "You called me future Mrs. Fenton. I love the way that sounds."

I pulled her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her upper chest.

"You wanna hear something?" I asked, resting my chin on her shoulder.

She nodded.

"I love it too." I replied.

"You and I are going to live happily ever after." She whispered.

"That we are, Sam. That we are." I replied.

The next morning, I awoke to a rumbling outside and I opened an eye.

It was still dark in the room, the only light coming from a small lamp in the corner.

I yawned and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep again.

But the rumbling continued and I finally decided to get up and look out the window.

Thunder clapped as I walked over to the window.

The whole house shook and I froze in front of the window.

Something wasn't quite right.

I glanced back at the bed to make sure that Sam was ok.

Once I'd seen that she was still sound asleep, I turned back to the window and pulled the curtains aside.

Literally, thousands of ghosts were flying all over the sky.

A storm was here, but that wasn't what was making the whole house shake. That wasn't what was creating those loud booms that awoke me.

The ghosts were trying to get into the house. They were trying to get to me.

I took a step away from the window and considered my options.

Number one: go outside and try to fight them all off-an immediate death wish.

Option number two: wake up the whole house and hopefully be able to scrounge enough ghost-fighting gear to kick butt.

I swallowed hard and ran a hand through my hair.

A ghost pounded up against the window, but for some reason-he couldn't phase through.

The box ghost was slamming into the other window and I took another step back.

Option number two won out. I wasn't ready to sacrifice myself for a final ghost attack.

Besides, I reasoned, I knew these ghosts better than my parents did. They would need my expertise in this area.

I pulled the drapes shut and quietly slipped out of my bedroom.

My feet were in socks and you couldn't hear me when I descended down the stairs.

I walked to the doorway of my parents bedroom and I saw them lying on their bed, still asleep.

Quietly, I walked over to my father's side of the bed and I gently shook him awake.

He sat upright in the bed, his eyes – a worried expression on his face.

"Danny?" He asked.

Before I could respond, he swung his legs off the side of the bed and put his feet on the floor.

"What is it? What's going on?"

"Shh, dad." I whispered, not wanting to wake mom quite yet. "I need your help."

"With what?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"The sky is filled with ghosts. They're everywhere, dad." I said in a hurried whisper.

He dropped his hands back to his lap and stood up. "Show me."

I led him back out the front window and I pulled back the drapes.

Outside, thousands of ghosts were flying around the houses, always trying to phase through.

"I've never seen them not phase through buildings before." I whispered.

"No, they can't anymore. After the ghost attacks three years ago, the Guys in White sprayed protective sealant on all the buildings and houses. It prevents ghosts from getting to the inhabitants of the building or house." My father explained.

Well now I understood why they weren't attacking me.

I swallowed.

"Why are they back? They've been gone for so long…" My father's tone of voice told me that he was confused – and a little scared.

Well he wasn't near as scared as I was in that moment.

I gathered up my courage and turned to him.

"It's me. I'm the reason that they're back." I said.

His eyebrows drew down. "What? Why?"

I swallowed. "They want to destroy me."


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: WOW! This story has gotten so long! (can you believe it was originally supposed to be a oneshot?) And the response from the readers has been huge! Thank you so much. I probably wouldn't have gotten this far into the story without your support and kind words. :)  
**

***an apology is in order I left you guys with another cliff-hanger xD**

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"What do you mean that they want to destroy you?" He asked.

My tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth.

I took a deep breath. "I'm the reason that they attacked the town the first time. I was informed of this in no uncertain terms."

He raised an eyebrow. "Who informed you?"

"Another one of the ghosts, that's not the point right now. The point is-"

"What? You had contact with the ghosts prior to this attack?" He demanded.

"He warned me that it was a possibility. He never said it was certain. But that's not important right now." I said.

"Then what is so important?" He demanded, crossing his arms.

I took a deep breath.

Why I was steeling myself, I'm not sure. I was pretty certain that he wasn't going to fight me on my decision. But if I did…I was prepared.

"Dad, if I sacrifice myself, they'll leave." I said.

He crossed his arms. "How can you be so sure?"

I glanced at the ground, then back at him. "Trust me. It's me that they wanted the first time. Why else would they be back?"

"I can't let you sacrifice yourself." He said.

I ran a hand through my hair. "You don't understand. They're not going to leave unless-"

"End of discussion." He snapped.

I closed my mouth.

"I'm going to wake your mother." He said, and with that, he exited the room.

Apparently, I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was…

I reached a hand up and peeked out the drapes.

The ghosts still circled the area, trying to phase through the building.

If they couldn't get in, did that mean that I couldn't get out?

Swallowing, I released the curtain and it swung back into place.

I crossed my arms and headed back for the stairs.

I wanted to warn Sam about this.

When I got to the top of the stairs, I came face to face with Vlad.

Unconsciously, I let out a hiss and took a step backward.

He raised an eyebrow. "I was just getting up to see what all the commotion was about. Was that you making all that noise?"

"You led them here, didn't you?" I hissed.

"Led who here? What are you talking about?" He asked.

I shook my head and narrowed my eyes. "You don't fool me, Vlad."

"I don't even know what you're talking about." He replied, his eyes narrowed too.

I scoffed and pushed past him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't deny it."

"Deny what?" He demanded.

I turned around and studied him.

His stance told me that he was ready for a defensive attack if I were to charge him.

But it also told me that he was nervous. Like maybe he had done something wrong and was just waiting for me to reveal what it was that I knew.

I shook my head. "Vlad, no one will believe you over me."

He raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Really? Even after you abandoned your family four years ago and haven't spoken to them since?"

I clenched my fists. Oh, the fury I could unleash on him. What I would do if my hands got around his fragile neck…

But I didn't touch him.

As a matter of fact, I turned and walked away.

He didn't say anything to me as I walked to my bedroom.

Another boom shook the house and I opened my bedroom door, shutting it behind me.

I walked over to my bed and sat down beside Sam. I put my hand on her shoulder and gently shook her awake.

She opened one eye and yawned. "Why are you up so early?"

"Well...there's a problem." I admitted.

"What problem is that?" She asked.

"Don't freak out…" I said.

She propped her elbow up and rested the side of her cheek in the palm of her hand. "Tell me."

"The ghosts have come back." I said in a small voice.

Her eyes widened and she sat upright in the bed.

"What? What are we going to do? Do your parents know yet?" She asked.

I put a hand on her leg. "Sh, it's ok. Don't worry, I'm going to take care of it."

"How?" She asked, disbelief on her face.

"I don't know yet, but I'm going to figure it out." I replied.

She bit her lips and whispered: "Please don't do something that's going to get yourself killed…"

"I won't." I replied.

Tears filled her eyes and ran down her face.

Gently, and slowly, I put my finger to her cheek and wiped them away.

"I'm not ready to lose you, Danny Fenton." She said.

I swallowed as a lump formed in my throat.

"I'm not ready to leave." I replied.

"Then don't." She whispered.

We stared into each other's eyes, both thinking the same thing.

One of the five of us in this house wasn't going to make it out alive…there was no way possible.

We weren't going to get a fairy tale ending, it just didn't happen for my family.

I gritted my teeth and stood.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

I sighed and turned my back to her. "I'm going to go figure out what my father has planned."

If I thought that it was going to risk anyone else's life or that it wouldn't work, I would surrender myself immediately.

No sense in prolonging the inevitable.

I opened the door and Sam made a sound that nearly broke my heart.

Something between a sob and a yell.

Gritting my teeth again, I exited my bedroom and started for the stairs.

She called my name with about as much panic as she could muster through her tears and my heart nearly stopped.

Her and I both knew that it was going to be me.

I was the one who wasn't going to make it out tonight.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Drama...and cliffhangers...**

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With that thought, I walked the rest of the way down the stairs and I looked for my father.

He and my mom were standing in front of the large window in the living room.

My mom had her hand over her mouth and my father had his hand on her back, saying something to her in a low voice.

I cleared my throat to make myself known.

My mother turned toward me and dropped her hand back to her side.

She made a noise, much like the one that Sam had made upstairs just a few moments ago.

"Danny…" Her voice trailed off when she didn't know what else to say.

I knew what I was up against, and I wasn't backing down.

I gave her a grim nod and swallowed, turning my gaze toward my father.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

He turned around. "I'm not sure. If anyone steps outside, they'll most likely attack."

I refrained from saying 'gee, you think?'. Instead, I nodded.

"Right." I said.

He crossed his arms. "And we're sure as hell not sacrificing you."

"Why not?" I asked. "It's the only plan that will actually work right now."

He raised an eyebrow. "We're not doing it."

"We would have the first time." I replied.

Silence followed that and I knew that I'd hurt their feelings.

Normally, if I knew I had hurt someone's feelings, I would apologize.

But they tried to kill me. I think that warrants a little bit of bitterness.

My father cleared his throat, pulling me back to the present.

"We're not sacrificing you because we don't know if it'll even work." He said.

I sighed. "Trust me, it will."

He shook his head. "We're not. You have any other plans?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No."

My father glanced at my mom. "What do you think, Maddie?"

She gave a sigh. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like anything will work."

While my father and my mother discussed what to do.

I walked into the kitchen and looked out the window that was over the sink.

Ghosts as far as the eye could see were swarming throughout the sky.

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the cold glass.

If I were to leave now, the ghosts would carry me away and everyone else would be safe.

…but as much as I told myself that, as much as I tried to convince myself that it was the right thing to do, I was still scared.

I still didn't want to die.

As much as I knew that I needed to face this fear and sacrifice myself so my friends and family wouldn't die…I just couldn't do it.

The kitchen door swung open and I opened my eyes, lifting my head from the window.

Another boom of thunder sounded as I turned my gaze toward the person who had walked in.

Sam was standing a few feet away from me.

She was wringing her hands and staring at me. With the most unreadable expression on her face.

I stepped back from the sink and held my arms open.

She hesitated for a second, then ran to me and threw her arms around my neck.

Within seconds, she was sobbing.

"I can't lose you, Danny, I can't. I'm not ready to lose you." She said through her tears.

I didn't say that she wasn't going to, I couldn't promise her that. I didn't tell her that everything was going to be all right, I couldn't promise her that either.

So instead, I told her the only thing that I knew was the truth.

"Sam, I love you. I always have, always will, and I will never love anyone as much as I love you." I kissed the top of her head, and wrapped my arms around her.

She started sobbing even harder, burying her face in my chest.

A lump was quickly forming in my throat as I thought about my impending doom.

There was no way we were all going to make it out of this alive.

And I'd be damned if another person was going to die because of me or for me.

With a final hard swallow, I pulled away.

"I have to go." I whispered, brushing my lips against her forehead.

She choked back a sob. "Danny, don't go."

"I have to." I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as I pulled away from her.

She let out another sob and clung to my t-shirt. "Please!"

I removed her fingers from my shirt and pushed her away.

"I can't. I have to go now." I walked past her.

I could still hear her crying as I exited the kitchen.

The door swung shut behind me and I felt it best if I kept distance between the two of us.

If anyone could make me change my mind about my fate, it'd be Sam.

But no…there was no changing my mind today.

As I glanced out the window in the dining room, I saw the sun peeking out from behind some clouds.

This may be the last time I ever saw the sun, so I felt that I'd better enjoy it.

I stared at the rising sun for a few minutes, taking a mental picture.

Just as I started for the door, as my hand closed around the knob, a deafening boom sounded throughout the house and shook the walls.

I heard a scream from up the stairs and I abandoned my suicidal mission.

Time to be the hero that everyone expected me to be.

I dashed up the stairs and swung open the door to my sisters room.

Hovering just above her was Walker.

He gave me a wicked grin and crooked his finger at me.

"Hello, Ghost Child." He cackled.

As I was contemplating how he got into the house, I looked at my sister and saw that he had a knife up to her throat.

Time to contemplate how he got in and my impending doom later…


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: Wow. I haven't updated this story in a long time. Here's one of the final three chapters. *tearing up* I can't believe the story is almost over! I want to thank all of you who read it and reviewed it. It's been a blast writing it and without further ado, here's the next installment. **

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"What took you so long?" He asked, inching the knife closer to her throat.

I took a step toward him, ready to pounce him.

He held up a finger as he pressed the blade against her skin. "One more step and you can say goodbye to your sister."

I swallowed and remained where I was.

A drop of sweat ran down the side of Walker's face. "I have a few demands that you're in a position to fill."

"Like what?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He shifted on the bed, using one hand to keep Jazz's hands pinned down and the other to hold the blade against the skin on her neck.

"First and foremost, you are to become my prisoner again." He had a crazy look in his bloodshot eyes and I could only guess that somewhere along the line, he'd snapped.

"Don't do it, Danny!" Jazz yelled.

Quickly, Walker moved his hand from her neck to her mouth. The knife left a scratch along the side of her face.

"Hush, silly girl!" He commanded.

That's when I charged.

He was distracted, and I had the advantage.

As soon as he looked up and saw me coming at him, he tried to get the knife back to Jazz's throat, but I was faster than him.

I knocked him off the bed and the two of us went rolling across the floor.

He managed to scratch up my forearms before I got the chance to hit him.

One punch to his jaw left him a bit dazed. A second to his eye left him looking around-most likely seeing stars.

A third to his other eye rendered him unconscious.

I let his head fall back against the wall and I stood up.

My hands were shaking, but I balled them into fists and it was less noticeable.

I turned around and saw my sister, leaning against her headboard.

Her hands were shaking and she was staring at me.

Slowly, I took a few steps toward her and reached out a hand, un-balling my fists.

I eased my hand onto her bed and it came to a rest on her socked foot, peeking out from the blanket.

She was trembling, so I took a few more steps toward her, moving my hand to rest on her ankle.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She stared at me, arms crossed, chest rising and falling quickly.

"Jazz, it's ok. It's me." I told her, confused as to why she looked so scared.

She gave a shudder and I glanced toward the door.

Our parents and Vlad were standing there, staring at the two of us.

"Where's Sam?" I asked.

My mom looked at my dad and he shrugged.

I passed Jazz's bed and squeezed in between my parents.

"Sam?" I called, ducking my head into my bedroom.

She wasn't there and my heart started pounding.

"Sam?" I called again, turning around toward the stairs.

When she didn't respond, I dashed down the stairs like they were nothing and searched the downstairs area.

She wasn't in the kitchen, dining room or the living room. I started for the only other place she could be.

The lab—I mean, basement.

Sure enough she was standing in front of the broken portal, crying softly.

I came down the stairs quietly and took a few steps toward her.

"Sam?" I called again.

She turned around, tears cascading down her beautiful face.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

"Baby, don't cry." I whispered.

My words set something off inside of her and she started crying even harder now.

She took a few steps toward me and I walked toward her, closing the gap between us.

My chest pressed against her and my hand grabbed the back of her neck.

She met my lips and pressed against me earnestly.

I pulled away and started to say something, but she cut me off.

"Don't talk." She whispered, pressing her lips against mine again.

"Sam, there are millions of ghosts flying right outside." I whispered again between her frantic kisses.

She pulled away, tears still running down her face.

I wiped them away with my thumbs and leaned my forehead against hers.

"I can't be distracted right now." I whispered.

She gave a shuddering sigh and I swallowed, steeling myself.

"I have to go." I said.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her.

I moved my hands from her back to her waist, pushing her away from me.

"I had to say goodbye." I whispered, kissing her neck.

She let out a loud sob, and I went intangible.

Her arms fell to her sides and I took a few steps backward, turning myself back to normal.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"No, Danny, don't go!" She screamed, charging at me.

I went intangible and stood there as she passed through me.

"Don't do that, damn it!" She yelled.

I took a few steps out of her reach and phased back to normal.

"Sam, this is harder on me than you realize." I told her.

She started for me again and this time, I changed to Danny Phantom and I flew up the stairs.

Ready to face my destiny…and my death.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Here's another chapter. So...I may have lied about how many chapters I have left. Turns out that I thought of a great plot twist and the ending is still three chapters away. I thought that after this chapter, I would just have to write the ending. SOOOO, the ending should be in another three chapters. **

**Please don't hate me, I'm just a writer. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing guys. Please let me know what you think of this latest installment by telling me so in the reviews section. Thanks! **

* * *

Ghosts can't phase into buildings, so it's natural that they can't phase out either.

I opened the door and stepped out into the blinding light of the morning.

Suddenly, it was eerily quiet outside. I knew that they were waiting for me. They were trying to launch a sneak attack.

"If you want me, I'm right here!" I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth.

There was no response.

I stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk.

"Just leave Amity Park alone!" I called out.

Suddenly, the silence that was here when I stepped out was replaced by a thousand voices. Every ghost out here was screaming my name, coming after me.

My fighting instincts told me to run.

I swallowed and stayed rooted where I was. If I showed compliance, they'd be more likely to remember my final request.

"Just leave Amity Park alone!" I repeated as they swarmed around me.

Ghosts were pressing into me from all sides.

I felt something strike the back of my head and the sky went black.

I'm not sure how long I was out, but I woke up to the sound of rain.

My eyes snapped open in the darkness and my breathing resumed its usual fast pace.

"Where am I?" I called out.

My words came out muffled because my mouth was gagged with something I couldn't identify.

My hands were bound behind my back and everything around me was dark.

Pitch black, darkness.

I tried to phase through whatever had me bound, but whoever had knocked me out had made sure that what they used to bind me with wasn't easy for a ghost to get out of. Even half of one...

Whatever they'd used to gag me with wasn't as strong as the binds. It fell completely out of my mouth and I breathed a quick sigh of relief.

Voices were several feet away from me, so I struggled up onto my knees and half crawled my way across…whatever I was kneeling on.

Cement? Dirt? Linoleum? I had no way of knowing.

I crawled until my face smacked into what felt like a steel door.

Ignoring the headache that gave me, I slammed my shoulder repeatedly against what I figured to be some sort of door.

The voices outside got louder. The ghosts were still attacking, trying to get into other buildings.

I felt my anger surge as I pounded my shoulder again and again against the solid object in front of me.

"Who's there?" A voice asked, from somewhere inside wherever I was.

I turned toward the voice, even though I was sure I couldn't see them in the darkness.

This strange glow emitted from somewhere far off.

I started crawling away from the door and toward the glow.

When it was several feet in front of me, the light went off.

"I know who you are." The voice whispered.

Whoever was talking, sounded scared.

"And who am I?" I asked. Was I Danny Fenton, or Danny Phantom? I was famous as both…

"You're Danny Phantom." The voice whispered, much quieter this time.

A groan escaped the person and I crawled closer toward them.

"Stay back!" They demanded.

I froze and sat back on my haunches.

Whoever was in here with me was breathing heavily. They sounded so scared.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

The response was a groan.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, crawling toward them again.

"Yes. No, please stay back." They begged.

"Let me help you. Turn on the light again." I said. "I promise you, I won't hurt you."

They groaned again and the light went back on.

Ember McClane lie against some wall. The small glow that I was seeing was emitting from her wrist-watch, which apparently was also a dual flashlight.

"Ember?" I asked. I remembered what Skulker had said to me a few days ago, and I glanced down at her stomach.

She put her arm over it protectively.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

She gave a nod, then winced.

"What's wrong?" I asked, scooting closer to her.

I still couldn't get out of my bonds.

"Where are you hurt?" I asked.

"Just my leg. I'm sure it's fine." She replied.

"Let me see it. Can you shine your flashlight closer?" I asked, shifting closer to her leg.

She moved her wrist closer to her leg and suddenly, I saw the problem.

There was a pretty big gash on her upper thigh, and her green ghost blood was seeping from it.

I swallowed. "Can you untie me?"

"What?" She asked.

I turned my back toward her and showed her my wrists. "Think you can get them undone?"

"I think so." She replied and set to work on getting them untied.

As soon as my hands were free, I turned back around and reached for her leg.

"Don't touch me." She snapped.

"Ember, I'm not going to hurt you." I told her.

She watched me with wary eyes.

I kept eye contact with her as I slowly moved my hands to rest on her thigh.

"I promise you, I won't hurt you." I whispered.

She closed her eyes and nodded, holding the flashlight closer to her leg.

I ripped a piece of my shirt off and wrapped it around her upper thigh, right above the gash.

"This should slow down the bleeding at the very least." I said, and ripped off another piece of my shirt.

"Thank you." She whispered.

I looked up at her and met her gaze. "You're welcome."

I started to use the other piece of my shirt to do my best to clean the wound, but there was a banging coming from the other end of wherever Ember and I were.

She shined her light further. "What is that?"

I paused with the cleaning and turned around.

Wherever we were was so dark that I couldn't see.

"I have no idea, Ember." I replied, turning around.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the room as a creaking sound emitted from the door.

I turned back around and saw Vlad standing in front of the light.

A wicked grin was stretched across his face.

"Hello Daniel." He took a few steps toward me.

I stood, hitting my head on something I couldn't see.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, taking a few steps toward him.

I made sure to crouch as I walked toward him so I wouldn't hit my head again.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? What are you doing?" He asked, glancing behind me at Ember.

I turned slightly to look at her, then turned back around to glare at Vlad.

"What did you do to her?" I asked.

He gave a shrug. "I did nothing."

"I don't believe you." I said, changing to ghost.

He shook his head. "I don't think you want to do that right now."

Vlad swung the door open and light swarmed in.

Behind him stood the panicking citizens of Amity Park.

"Apparently some of the ghosts figured out how to get into the buildings." He grinned. "I wonder who showed them how…"


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry for not updating sooner! When I got a fanfiction account, I told myself that I wouldn't be one of those writers who took a LONG time to update their stories...yet here I am, apologizing for what feels like the 100th time! I'm so sorry to my loyal readers, I promise I'll try to update MUCH MUCH sooner. **

**Thank you for everyone who reviews my story. You're wonderful people and I'm so happy that you like my story. It's almost come to an end, and I'm going to miss this story very much. With just under 55,000 words, this story has been so much fun to write. I hope you guys have enjoyed my ideas for Danny Phantom, and keep an eye out for my newest story! :) Thanks again and please review this latest installment. **

* * *

…I'd left the front door of my house open.

I knew that there was something I was forgetting as I was leaving my house. I'd left the front door open, and ghosts had invaded.

While I was pondering whether or not my family and friends were still alive, Vlad cleared his throat, bringing my mind back to him.

I narrowed my eyes. "Where am I?"

"In the back of a van." Ember said in a small voice.

I turned around to look at her, but Vlad made a noise and I turned back to him.

"Where's my family?" I demanded.

He laughed. "What family?"

I opened my mouth to respond, and he gave a small laugh.

"You honestly think that after all these years that your parents and your sister still see you as family?" He grinned. "Wow, this is too good. You actually believe that your relatives still want to associate with you as family."

I clenched my fists, ignoring his words. "Where are they?"

He gave a small shrug. "Most likely running for their lives."

I gritted my teeth.

"As for you, well…you didn't think that we were going to let you sacrifice yourself were you?" He demanded. "As mayor of this town, I plan to kill you and other ghosts that I've caught as proof that the inhabitants of Amity Park can survive future ghost attacks."

"And once I dispose of you, your girlfriend and your family shall be arrested for harboring a ghost fugitive." He chuckled. "You see, it all works out perfectly."

"Two things you didn't count on." I replied.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

"One, I'm not the same eighteen-year-old scared kid that left this place five years ago." I made myself invisible. "And two…"

He scanned around the van, looking for me.

I didn't say anything for a second.

"And two?" He prompted.

I made myself visible again, now floating a few inches from his face.

He jumped backward and I landed a punch to his eye. "The ghosts you've 'caught' aren't going to just lie down and take this."

Vlad started toward me, and I made myself invisible once more.

I flew over to Ember and turned her invisible as well. As soon as I'd let my body go intangible, I carried her up out of the van and further away from Vlad.

I stopped on top of a roof, and I set her down gently.

"You all right?" I asked, visible and tangible again.

She nodded. "Thank you."

"Are you going to be ok up here?" I asked.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

I glanced down at the streets, at the panicking citizens.

"To save my home." I replied, looking back at her.

She stared at me for a second, then nodded.

I left her on the roof and flew down to the street.

Citizens were still panicking, so I stayed above their heads, making sure that they couldn't see me easily.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Fenton Fisher wrapped around my body and I was pulled to the ground.

My parents must not have thrown away all of their ghost hunting equipment when they decided to give up their life long profession.

Someone had gotten their hands on the Fenton Fisher, and were using it to get their hands on me.

They were dragging me backward across the street, and I could do little to stop it.

No amount of intangibility worked against the strong line.

I resisted for as long as I could, but eventually had to give in.

I was no match for the strength of the puller.

Within seconds, I was no longer being pulled.

Hands reached out and grabbed me, and I closed my eyes.

Part of me wanted to identify who was trying to kill me. But part of me knew that it was Vlad.

"Come on, son, get up." A voice whispered.

I hesitated, then finally opened my eyes.

My father stood, staring down at me, Fenton Fisher in hand.

"Come on, son, get up. You need to get in here." He gestured toward a random building.

I stood shakily and cocked my head to one side.

"What are you-"

"There's no time to explain, now come on!" He snapped, grabbing onto my arm and yanking me inside.

The door shut with a loud bang, and everything went dark.

I could hear our breathing in the silence.

"Is everyone inside?" Sam's voice called out from somewhere in the black.

"Sam!" I cried. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here." She replied.

My hands couldn't find her fast enough.

And when they finally did, I pulled her against me in a tight hug.

"I was so worried that something was going to happen to you." I told her.

"Umm…dude? You mind getting your hands off of me?" Tucker asked.

I took a step backward, releasing my hands from around his neck.

"Uh, is that you Tucker?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't try to hit on me in the dark." He replied.

I knew that my face was red and I was glad that it was dark in here.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

"In some random building." My father replied.

"Why are the lights off?" I asked, at the same time my mom said, "It's the first building that we came to."

"If we turn on the lights, it'll attract too much attention." My father responded to my question.

"Is Jazz in here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm here." She replied.

A hand reached out and touched my shoulder.

"Who's this?" I asked, placing my hand on the hand.

"It's me." Sam's voice replied.

My hands went around her waist, and her lips went against mine.

I pulled away after a second, catching my breath.

"I didn't think I was ever going to see you again." I whispered, leaning my forehead against hers.

"I love you." Was all she said.

"Danny, why would you try and sacrifice yourself?" My father demanded.

I pulled away from Sam.

"What do you mean?" I asked, the events of earlier slightly blurry.

"I'm not stupid. I know that you went out there to sacrifice yourself. At what point did you think, 'Huh…maybe this isn't such a hot idea'?" He demanded.

"Look, I'm just trying to keep everyone safe." I replied.

"Keep everyone safe? Danny, when we realized you were missing, we came out here without a second thought." He said.

There was silence for a second.

"All of you?" I asked.

Sam put her hand on my arm. "All of us."

"If you had waited a few minutes inside, you would've known that we have a plan." My mom told me.

"What's your plan?" I asked, still shocked that my family and friends would risk their lives for me.

Especially since this whole damn thing is my fault to begin with.

"It's going to be risky." Tucker said. "And some of us are going to get hurt."

I swallowed. Didn't sound like a plan I would like too much…

"But," He continued. "If we succeed, there will be victory."

I didn't have it in my heart to tell them that even if we won this battle, there would be more.

But as I listened to their crazy plan, even I started to get a little shred of hope. If we pull this off…their *could* be victory…


	48. Chapter 48

My stomach was in knots and I thought I was going to puke.

I watched my best friend, Tucker Foley, make his way across the crowded street.

He was heading straight for Vlad Masters.

The fighter/protector in me was going nuts. I wanted to run to Tucker and fly him away from the danger all around him.

But Tucker never faltered. He never gave any indication that this wasn't what he wanted to do.

He was still dragging his leg behind him when Vlad looked up.

"Vlad Masters!" Tucker called out, holding his hands out to him, showing him that he wasn't armed.

I took even breaths, trying to stay calm.

My palms felt clammy and I tried to rub them on my jeans.

"If I can do anything, I'm here to help." Tucker called out, stopping a foot away from Vlad.

Vlad and his guards chuckled, staring at him.

"You? What can you do, you're crippled." Vlad laughed.

The way he said it made my skin crawl. He said it as if Tucker was somehow useless because of the way his leg was crippled.

My blood boiled. He had no right to treat Tucker as if he was something less than the rest of his men.

"I may not be up to the best physically but mentally, I'm fully prepared." He replied, straightening up a little.

Vlad inclined his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I know where Danny Phantom is, and what he's planning." He said.

I almost panicked when those words left Tucker's mouth but I reminded myself that it was part of the plan.

I was invisible behind a bush, but still watching Tucker.

If for whatever reason, the deal with Vlad went south, I'd be there to carry Tucker to safety.

Vlad pursued his lips. "How is that helpful to me?"

"He's planning on stopping you." Tucker replied, then leaned closer. "I know that you planned these ghost attacks, and so does he."

"What do you mean?" He demanded, looking taken aback. "I haven't planned any ghost attacks."

Tucker gave him a look and Vlad narrowed his eyes.

"Fine." He said. "What do you have for me?"

Tucker shook his head. "No, I'm not going to offer my help for free. I have a price."

"Name it." Vlad snapped.

My father sidled up beside me.

I glanced at him.

"Everything's going according to plan." He said.

I nodded, and looked back at the two men a few feet away from me.

"You let the Fentons, and everyone in their house go free." He said, crossing his arms.

Vlad laughed. "Let the Fenton's go? No, I don' t think so. I have my men on their way to their house to kidnap them. There's absolutely no reason why I would let them go free."

Tucker gave a careless shrug. "That's fine."

He turned to leave and Vlad glanced around at the sky.

"Why are you leaving?" He asked. "I still want the information."

Tucker turned around. "I've named my price."

Vlad gave an angry snarl. "They won't be harmed. That's the most I can promise."

He hesitated for a minute then shook his head. "No, can do. They must leave the area."

Vlad eyes narrowed. "You honestly believe that I need your compliance? I'll figure out what Danny Phantom is planning."

"Not without me." Tucker replied.

Vlad laughed loudly. "I never said without _you _, Foley."

"Then what-"

Before Tucker could finish his question, one of Vlad's bodyguards stalked over to Tucker and hit his crippled leg with a crow bar.

Tucker cried out in pain.

That wasn't part of the plan!

I felt a surge of anger as I lunged out from behind my hiding place.

My father's strong arms locked around my waist and dragged me back behind the bushes.

"No, Danny." He hissed, his hand covering my mouth.

I squirmed and struggled against his grip.

He pinned me down against the pavement.

Didn't he understand what I was trying to do? I was trying to help one of my best friends!

My father held down my arms as he held my gaze.

His look said it all.

If I gave us away, we'd never win this battle.

I stopped struggling. My father held my gaze for another minute, then let me go.

I blinked away the tears as Tucker cried out again.

"Come on, son. Your mother and Sam will be expecting us soon." He said.

I nodded and phased the two of us through the street.

"The sewer system?" He asked, looking around. "Really?"

"Do you have a better idea?" I questioned.

He sighed.

I flew us down the long winding tunnels until we were underneath the manhole cover.

"Ready?" I asked my father, whom I was still carrying.

He tensed. "No. Can you set us down somewhere?"

I looked around the tunnel and spied a ledge.

I flew us over to it and set him down.

He took a deep breath.

I hovered in the air, watching him. My father hated to phase through objects.

"Danny, I need to tell you something." He wheezed.

I swallowed and nodded. "What is it?"

My father took another deep breath and met my gaze.

"I am so proud of the man you are today." He started.

"Dad-"

"No, you need to hear this." He said.

I sighed.

"You are the bravest person I've ever known. I want you to know how proud I am to call you my son." He said, his voice breaking on the last few words.

I waited to see if he was finished.

"And I needed to tell you this before we go charging into battle. Danny, I'm proud to be fighting by your side." My father told me.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"I have failed you so many times." He whispered.

"No, you-"

"I have." He said, clapping his fist into his open palm. "And I regret every time I threatened you, Danny."

He took another shaky breath. "I love you so much."

"Dad, I don't blame you for-"

"Well, damn it, I do!" He yelled.

His voice bounced off the walls.

I hesitated.

"I tried to kill you." He whispered, his voice thick with tears. "What would I have done with myself had I succeeded?"

I swallowed. "You would have moved on. Things happen, dad."

He met my gaze. "Things don't just happen, Danny. I won't be able to live with myself if something happens to you today. I've spent so much of my time hating you for something that's my fault."

I opened my mouth, but my watch began beeping. I sighed.

"Dad, we've got to go. We'll finish this conversation if…." I trailed off.

He stood up and took a hold of my arm. "We'll finish this conversation."

I gave him a fake smile. "Of course we will."

After that, I phased the both of us through the manhole cover and spied Sam and my mother behind a car.

I flew us over to the two of them and set us down.

As soon as I went tangible and visible again, Sam grabbed my hand.

"I love you." I whispered, my eyes straight ahead, looking at the ghosts battling the humans in front of us.

"I love you too." She said.

I squeezed her hand and finally looked at her.

She looked at me, tears building in her eyes.

"I want you to know that if I die today, I will have died happy." I whispered.

She whimpered. "Danny…"

"Sam, thank you. Thank you for convincing me to make peace with my parents." I glanced at the two of them briefly, then looked back at Sam.

"You mean the world to me, Sam. I love you so much." I whispered again.

"I love you." She said.

Off in the distance, an explosion sounded and I made myself intangible again.

Sam's hand hit the pavement.

She glanced up at me, confusion in her tear-filled eyes.

This was the part of the plan that I hadn't talked about with the others.

The part where I really did sacrifice myself. By bringing down Vlad. Death was inevitable.

Truly inevitable…


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. Every time I say that the story is coming close to an end, I always get another idea and add a few more chapters. So, I'm not going to SAY that it's coming to end. I'm just going to type it. It's possible that it's coming to an end. *crosses fingers* Not that I don't love this story, but I'm ready to start working on my new one. :D Can't wait for you all to read it! Please review this chapter and let me know what you think. Did the ending surprise you? * mischievous smirk* **

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Sam called my name as I flew off into the distance.

Earlier, I had overheard Vlad talking about exploding some of the ghosts with his new ecto-ray.

I wasn't sure if any of the other ghosts had thought of this yet, but if Vlad were to overshadow me just long enough for the guards to pull the trigger on me, I could close my body briefly to prevent him from escaping.

It's a power that I only recently developed. Within the last year or so.

I've been trying to perfect it, but with the Fenton Portal closed and everything, it's a little hard for me to find someone to practice with. I'm not even sure if any other ghost has this ability…I might be the first.

I flew toward the trail of smoke I saw on the horizon.

Wherever the explosion was going on, I was sure to find Vlad.

I phased into the building and looked around.

There was a smoldering pile of ghost bodies and I had to look away.

My old friend, Wulf was among those bodies.

I was surprised by how much that hurt me.

I didn't let myself get attached to anyone.

After a few deep breaths, and saying a few words about my deceased friend, I moved on.

There were three winding tunnels, and I chose the one in the center.

It turned out to be a dead end, so I doubled back to the first tunnel.

As I was walking down the tunnel, I noticed that there were long scratches and malformation of the walls on either side of the tunnel.

As I was walking down the tunnel's hallway, I briefly considered what building would have tunnels in it.

That thought flew from my brain though as the wind was knocked out of me.

Kitty was on top of me.

She snarled something I didn't hear and landed a punch to my face.

I went intangible and she followed suit.

"Get out!" She yelled.

I shoved her off of me and rolled over onto my stomach.

She quickly rolled after me and I jumped up.

"No way." I replied, throwing an energy blast at her.

She threw one back at me and I easily dodged it.

Her hair was a mess and her eyes were bloodshot.

I didn't think ghosts needed to sleep…

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, dodging a blast she sent my way.

"Get out!" She screamed.

I threw an ecto blast at her, and she was forced backward against the wall.

Then, I used a shot of energy fluid to pin her wrists to the wall – much like the webs a certain superhero uses.

I cracked my knuckles and let out a sigh.

"What is this stuff?" Kitty demanded, struggling against her new found bonds.

I rolled my shoulders. "I ask the questions."

She met my gaze and glared.

"I have a few questions of my own." I said.

"Like what?" She demanded.

"What are you doing here? And don't lie." I crossed my arms.

She sighed. "I'm here to prevent you from getting any further."

"In this building?" I asked.

Kitty gave a careless shrug. "Maybe. Maybe I was sent here to prevent you from leaving."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who sent you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "None of your business, Phantom."

"Are you working for Johnny? Is he working with Vlad?" I asked.

She threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"What-"

She shook her head. "Johnny 13? He's been dead going on three years now."

"What?" I asked, feeling the shock on my face.

She nodded, then a small smirk played up her features. "I killed him."

"You? Why?" I asked, confused. I thought she loved him…

Kitty shrugged. "I caught him cheating."

"So you killed him?" I asked.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Phantom, but yeah. Basically." She said, slanting her eyes to one side.

I swallowed.

"And as for Vlad…" She said, drawing my attention back to her.

I raised an eyebrow.

"That pompous twit couldn't get me to work for him. He asked, but I said no. At the time, I had…" She bit her lip in a slightly flirtatious way. "another employer."

"What are you sa-"

"You should get out of here." She said, cutting me off. "I was supposed to kill you."

"Well, I must say, I'm glad you didn't." I replied, sarcastically.

She chuckled and gave a shrug. "Do you whatever you want, but it would've been kinder to die at my hands."

"Why? What's waiting for me?" I asked.

"I think the better question, Phantom, is who." She replied.

I left Kitty there, tied to the wall – I couldn't risk her following me.

However, I weakened them with an energy beam so she'd be free in less than an hour.

I wasn't cruel. I just didn't want her coming after me to kill me.

I planned to discover who was waiting for me before the hour was up.

After walking down the hallway for what seemed like forever, I checked my watch. Turns out, I'd only been walking for less than ten minutes.

I was already jumpy as I tried to figure out who was waiting for me. Was it Vlad? Had she lied about working with him?

Was it another ghost? Was it a human?

I chewed on my lip as I walked further and further into the slowly darkening hallway.

After walking for another five minutes, the whole hallway was almost completely black.

I had to use my energy rays to even see two feet in front of me.

Briefly, I wondered if I was walking into a trap.

But I quickly reminded myself, that nobody had a gun to my head, forcing me to walk.

I could turn back at any moment…I just knew that I couldn't. Wouldn't.

As I continued walking forward, a small beam of green light slowly came into focus.

The further I walked, the closer it grew.

Until I was almost on top of it.

The light swelled, and I cut my energy beams off.

The green light filled everything. All around me was green. The walls were green, the floors were green, my costume was green, everything.

Slowly, I turned my green eyes up to the green light.

When I looked at the light, every single thought flew from my brain.

I didn't need to save anyone…they were already saved.

This light would save them, would heal and restore them.

Just seconds before it might have been too late, I realized what the light was.

A hypnotic beam that only ghosts could see. I remembered a similar version from my high school days when my father accidentally created one, and then I purposely destroyed it.

I looked away before it was too late.

The floor was no longer green. The walls neither.

My costume and skin remained normal.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, well, Phantom." A voice rasped. "You've outwitted my hypno –ray."

I kept my eyes on the floor, then slowly looked up.

Standing just inches in front of me, was Pariah Dark.

His green sword hung at his waist, his skull belt buckle prominent.

My breath hitched.

His long black cloak was tattered and torn at the edges.

"Daniel Fenton, AKA: Danny Phantom." His voice boomed, ending on a slight chuckle.

He took a few steps toward me and I unconsciously took a few steps back.

"I was wondering when this town would see you again." He grinned, his lips stretching into a disfigured smile.

"What are…what are you doing here?" I managed, my brain totally fried at the sight of him.

He threw his head back and laughed.

Slowly, he brought his gaze to mine.

"That question is easy enough to answer." He grinned wickedly.

I held my breath.

"To kill you."


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while :" I hope you guys like this installment! Review and let me know what you think! **

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My brain panicked at his words.

I took a few more steps backward. "What-"

"You're a threat to both this world," He gestured around the room. "And ours."

"The ghost world?" I questioned. "How am I a threat? I'm one of the good guys, remember?"

"Exactly." He grinned.

I was confused, but he threw an ecto ray at me and I no longer had time to be confused.

I jumped out of the way, rolling behind a large boulder.

This area had obviously been crafted so that if any human stumbled upon it, the hypno-ray would send them right back out, convincing them that they'd seen nothing.

But I'm not just a human. I'm half ghost, so I was able to see through the ray.

I took a few breaths, then rolled out from behind the boulder and rolled behind another on the opposite side of me.

Pariah Dark laughed loudly, as he sent blasts my way.

I couldn't tell if he was walking toward me or not.

Slowly, I put my hand to my hand and gently rubbed my temple where Kitty had clocked me.

Whenever I had thought about all the weird things going on in this town, I thought it was Vlad. The whole time, I just knew that Vlad was the reason for all the ghosts.

Not…Pariah Dark.

I gathered my wits and stood up.

Pariah Dark manipulated the floor around us to scorching hot magma.

I hovered above the floor, giving him a less than impressed look.

He narrowed his eyes at me and cocked his head to one side.

Slowly, the floor changed back to what it was moments ago, rock.

I continued to hover, watching him.

"What are you doing in Amity Park?" I asked, and before I could stop myself, another question leapt out of my throat and through my lips. "Does your appearance here have anything to do with the way the other ghosts have been acting?"

He laughed again.

A deep booming, mocking laugh.

He was laughing at me. He knew something I didn't…

"Too soon, Phantom." He cackled.

I raised an eyebrow.

He slammed the bottom of his staff against the rock flooring, shaking the entire building structure.

My hands blurred in front of me and suddenly I was moving faster than I was able to.

Or at least, I was supposed to be able to.

My body blurred when I looked down.

As if I was acting of my body and not my mind's own will, I jumped up to Pariah Dark and used my ghost ray to blast him through the ceiling of the building.

As I was watching him go up, I looked around, my brain running at warp speed.

There was a ring of fire in the corner of the room.

I flew over there, but I heard Pariah Dark land back on the ground and I whirled around to face him.

Still moving at lightning speed, I sent four beams to him in quick succession.

He managed to dodge the first two, but the last two hit him squarely in the chest.

He looked at me with pure hatred in his eyes.

I flew further away from him and hovered, waiting for him to make his next move.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I looked around the room again.

'I'm missing something…' I thought.

I didn't have any more time to process that thought.

He threw something at me that exploded in mid-air.

At first, I felt like I was suffocating, but just as quickly as the feeling came, it left.

I swiveled around to face Pariah.

His face was a mixture of curiosity and anger.

I wasn't sure what he was expecting for me to experience by throwing whatever it was he threw at me, but I obviously didn't give him the reaction he was looking for.

He hovered closer. "Very interesting…you're not like the ghosts I've seen."

I flew toward him and blasted him backward a few feet. "I know."

He skidded to a stop, the whole building structure still shaking violently.

Pieces of the ceiling were caving in.

I flew toward the exit, but he blocked me by hitting me in the chest with the blast.

The beam hit me so hard, I fell backward onto the rock floor.

Pariah's laugh echoed around the room.

The floor shook beneath me, making me dizzy.

I was just trying to get the ground to stop shaking. If I could get up, I could keep fighting.

As soon as I put my palms on the ground, the building stopped shaking.

The ceiling stopped crumbling and Pariah looked around, then gave me a curious look.

I stood up and hovered over to him.

He stared at me and I crossed my arms.

"What are you capable of, ghost?" He demanded.

Well now I didn't know anymore.

But there was no way I was going to tell him that.

"Stuff you'd only read about in a horror novel." I said in the most menacing tone I could muster considering I was lying through my teeth.

He stared at me, then flew a few inches backward. "What are you?"

I resisted the urge to whisper, 'Your worst nightmare'.

Instead, I immediately went back into action. Throwing blasts and beams his way, trying to knock him off balance again so I could gain the upper hand.

Rather than fight, Pariah flew through the hole I'd created in the ceiling when I'd blasted him.

I quickly followed after him, throwing blasts at him like they were missiles.

Several clipped his shoulder, but he continued flying.

All of a sudden, he came to a jerky stop and flung his arm out to stop me from going past him.

His forearm hit me in the chest and it burned.

I cried out in pain and moved away from him.

He watched me curiously, then reached out his hand to touch me.

I'm not sure what he was expecting, but when I jerked away without a reaction he seemed disappointed.

For the first time since I'd been following him, I realized we were outside again, closer to my loved ones than I particularly enjoyed.

I didn't want them to see my death, if it came to that.

Pariah's eyes scanned the crowd and I blasted him again.

He threw one back at me and gave me an annoyed look.

I blasted him again, just as his eyes locked onto Sam's retreating figure.

He grinned and glanced at me.

I tried to stop him, by distracting him with my ghost rays, and throwing various things at him, but nothing worked.

He zeroed in on Sam and sent a ray from his staff toward her.

What that did, I wasn't sure.

I saw red, and I don't even remember getting so close to him, but the next thing I knew I had one hand around his throat, and one around his staff.

The ray flew toward Sam, closing in on her.

I only had time to do one thing…kill Pariah, or save my fiancé.


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N: Wow, it's getting so close to the end. *grins* I believe the next one might be the last chapter, and then I might have an epilogue. But that should be it :D If you like it, review and let me know! Thank you readers! **

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It was no contest. I knew that I needed to save Sam.

There was always another day to fight Pariah.

I flew toward Sam so much faster than I should be capable of.

Within a split second, I wrapped my arms around Sam and scooped her up high into the air, out of the line of fire.

Sam made a noise and looked up at me.

"Hi." I said.

"You're alive." She replied.

I nodded. For now.

The ray hit the street and vaporized a section.

I swallowed, looking down at the hole where Sam had been standing moments ago.

I dropped back down to the ground behind a building, hoping that Pariah couldn't see us.

"Listen to me." I whispered.

She touched my face.

Sam had a deep scratch on her arm, and a forming bruise under her eye.

Her lips were cracked and bloody, I had no idea how she'd gotten so scraped up.

I closed my eyes. "Baby, listen to me. I need you to go inside this building and stay put, ok? Someone from my family will be right back to get you."

I made the wall invisible and took a look around inside.

Like I figured, it was an office building that had no occupants.

I phased Sam through the wall and the building became whole again.

"Where are you going?" She questioned.

I swallowed.

She squeezed her eyes closed.

"No, please don't cry." I whispered, gathering her up in my arms – knowing that I needed to leave.

"Just…think of me as your own personal super hero." I whispered. "And just keep imagining all the things you and I are going to do when I return from saving the world."

She nodded, resting her forehead against my shoulder.

Gently, I pulled away and looked into her tear-filled eyes.

For some reason, I felt like I should say, "I'm coming back"…but I couldn't force myself to lie.

We both knew how this was going to end.

"I love you." I said instead.

She nodded as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you too."

I turned to leave and she grabbed my hand.

"Sam-" I started, but she cut me off my placing her lips against mine.

Our mouths melted together and she put her arms around my neck.

I put my hands on her waist, and gently pulled away.

"I have to go." I whispered.

"I know." She replied with a sniffle.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Me too." She responded.

I turned to leave again and she spoke.

"Hey."

I glanced at her.

"Just so you know, you've always been a super hero to me." She said.

I gave her a smile. "Thank you."

With that, I phased through the wall of the building and out into the street.

I went invisible and flew toward the sky, scanning for Pariah.

He was on the ground now, terrorizing the citizens of Amity Park.

I don't know the source, but I somehow mustered the strength and I uprooted a tree.

I threw it at him and it bounced off his back.

"Hey circus freak!" I called.

He turned toward me, growling.

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" I demanded.

He reached next to him and grabbed a car, chucking it toward me.

I moved out of his way and hovered through the air.

Just as I was about to taunt him, whatever force had taken over me in the cave took over now and I was flying toward him at warp speed.

I slammed into his chest, but didn't feel a thing.

He toppled over backward, and while he was down, I grabbed his staff.

Almost immediately after I picked it up, I knew all the things it could do.

Just by one touch, I knew how to use it and control it.

I pointed it at Pariah Dark and he glowered at me as he stood up.

"You don't even know how to use it." He said.

I gave it a gentle wave and from the tip shot out a nasty red beam.

It hit him squarely in the chest and he fell down again.

He was gasping for breath, but I knew that this wasn't it.

This wasn't what was going to kill him…I was.

I dropped the staff and he gave me a curious look in between sputtered gasps.

Without a second thought, I flew into his body, overshadowing him.

I began to immediately work at his muscles, tearing apart the ones connecting his heart to his body.

I heard him screaming, but I tuned him out.

My new found speed and abilities had me tearing out his heart faster than ever.

There was only one last muscle to pull and if he died while I was inside, I'd be trapped.

But I wasn't sure if I could pull it from the outside.

With one last deep breath, I pulled the muscle and tried to phase out of him.

He was groaning and screaming as I tried to get out.

Just as soon as I accepted my fate, I was expelled from his body and onto the pavement.

I gave a few deep coughs and turned around to look behind me at Pariah Dark.

His body was shriveling and contorting.

I could tell that he was dying.

Part of me felt guilty, but another part of me knew this was the way.

I stood and watched as the last ray of life left his eyes.

As soon as he was dead, I took a deep breath and flew off into the sky, scanning the area for Vlad.

I was going to kick the shit out of him for what he did to Tucker.

As I suspected, Vlad was with his guards, trying to calm down the citizens of Amity Park.

I flew over to him and lifted him up into the air, turning us both invisible.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"All part of the plan, Vladdie." I sneered.

He struggled against me but I grabbed his wrist, threatening to break it.

He gave a noise and stopped resisting.

I flew him over toward Pariah Dark's lifeless body.

He gasped as he looked down at him.

I hovered above the body, still invisible. "Did you set him free?"

Vlad didn't answer, just continued staring down at him.

I shook him. "Hey! Answer me. Did you set him free?"

"N-no. How did he get out?" He murmured, looking around. "And how is he dead?"

I shook him again. "Do you know who released him?"

Vlad was quiet, so I shook him again.

"Do you know who released him?" I demanded.

"I have my suspicions, but nothing is concrete…" He said.

"Who do you suspect?" I questioned.

"Several ghosts. But Daniel, I don't think that's any of your concern right now." He said.

"I want to know." I replied.

He chuckled. "That's fine, but in the meantime, your father is dying."

I whirled around, scanning the crowd of panicking people.

"Where is he?" I demanded, looking around.

Vlad chuckled and turned into Vlad Plasimus.

He wrenched free from my arms. "I haven't seen your father in the past twenty minutes. The last time I saw him, he was still alive."

"You lied to me?" I questioned, floating toward him.

"Precisely." He grinned.

Before I could ask why, somebody hit me from behind and the world went black.

I awoke just a few moments later, and looked around. I was lying on the street.

Vlad and Walker were floating above me.

I was trying to come up with a way to get out of the situation I was in.

All of a sudden, I got a vision of what was to come. Sort of like a premonition, only a vision instead.

The guys in white were marching across the town of Amity Park.

I began to laugh as that image danced in my mind.

I knew what I needed to do.

"What are you laughing at, you dolt?" Vlad questioned, looking down at me with a very annoyed expression on his face.

I gave him a wave, then phased through the street.

I heard Vlad scream after me, but I took off flying through the sewers, still laughing.

Everything was going to work out perfectly.


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: Ok guys...here it is. The last chapter of Christmas Visit! There'll be an epilogue after it but this is technically the last chapter. *small sob* I can't believe it's over. It's taken me a little over 6 months to write. Now that it's over, I feel almost like I'm losing a little piece of myself. :/ **

**I want to thank each and everyone of you for reviewing my story and for reading it. If you're reading this right now and you've stuck with this story since the beginning, I appreciate it. I appreciate you. Thank you so much for making writing this story a blast. Please let me know what you think of the ending, and the epilogue. Thank you so much. **

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I flew through the air, feeling lighter than ever.

Everything was working out perfectly.

I dropped down to the street and phased back to Danny Fenton.

My shirt was tattered and there were a few scrapes in my jeans, but other than that and a cut on the side of my face, I was perfectly fine.

I was more than fine.

Moving quickly, I found my parents and Sam not too far from where I set foot on ground.

Sam embraced me when I came up to her.

"What are you doing here? What happened?" She asked.

"What are you doing out of the warehouse?" I questioned, pulling away from her. "I thought I told you to stay there."

"Tucker came and got me." She said, shaking her head. "He told me that you were going to sacrifice yourself."

I gave her a smile. "I was going to. But there's no need for it anymore."

"Why not?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"It's over." I murmured, closing my eyes and resting my forehead against hers.

"What?" She questioned, moving her hands to my lower back.

"It's over, Sam." I repeated, hardly believing it myself.

She didn't say anything, just held me.

When my parents came over to us, I pulled away from Sam and told them the same thing…it's over.

I could barely believe that he was dead, I'd finished him off.

And now, thanks to me, Amity Park was safe once again.

I saved the day and for once, I was glad I did.

I was glad that I was here when all of this went down.

Just like my vision had predicted, the guys in white came marching across Amity Park and captured all of the remaining ghosts.

I made sure to get Skulker and Ember away from Amity Park before the guys in white arrived.

No reason for them to die.

Vlad was stripped of his mayoral status and removed from the area. He was taken to a "special hospital" to remove the ghost half. But my family and I knew that meant the guys in white were going to do their worst to him.

Within a few days, the town was almost back to normal. Christmas was right around the corner, and my mom, my sister and Sam went out for some last minute shopping and "girl bonding time".

Which left me alone with my father.

We hadn't really talked since he'd spoken to me in the sewer.

I had questions, and I was pretty sure he did too.

I found him where I thought I would. He was down in the basement, staring at the hole in the wall where the ghost zone used to be.

I descended the staircase and came to stand beside him.

"Hey," He said, glancing at me.

"Hey." I replied, staring at the wall.

My father went back to staring at the wall.

He lifted a bottle to his lips and took a long pull.

He held it out to me as an offering.

"I don't drink." I replied, and crossed my arms, giving him a sideways glance.

He shrugged and took another drink, turning his gaze back to the wall.

When he pulled the bottle away from his lips, he murmured. "Don't tell your mother."

I waited a few seconds. "I didn't realize you drank."

"I don't normally." He shrugged. "This week…was just so hard."

"Yeah, tell me about it." I chuckled.

He chuckled, turning to look at me again. "I can't believe you fought off Pariah Dark. Do you know how dangerous he is?"

"Of course I know." I laughed and looked at him. "I fought him in my teenage years."

"I didn't know that." He replied in a whisper.

Tears glistened in his eyes.

"Dad-"

He shook his head. "No, it's all right. I know what I did to you, son. I don't expect forgiveness."

My father heaved a huge sigh and looked away from me. "I haven't forgiven me for what I did."

I took a long look at him. He seemed so broken. So ashamed of what he had done.

That's when it hit me. I'd forgiven him the moment I set foot in the basement.

Because he'd turned away from his life-long profession because of what he'd done to me.

His guilt and shame over it changed him.

"Dad, I've already forgiven you." I said, my voice breaking on the last word.

He looked up as a tear ran down his face.

"Dad, it's ok." I said.

His arms went around me and I embraced him.

"My son." He murmured, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm right here." I replied.

I sat across from my father at our kitchen table.

He was listening intently as I recounted how I killed Pariah Dark.

When I first told my family the story, I edited it a little. I didn't mention the fact that I could phase into his body and destroy him from the inside out.

I just said that I somehow managed to overcome his strength. When I first told the story, I knew that my father didn't believe me but he didn't say anything so I let it go.

But now my father was asking questions, and I was doing my best to answer him.

"So, the warp speed…did you always have that ability?" He questioned, taking a sip of his coffee.

I shook my head.

"No, I didn't." I hesitated before continuing. "But you want to hear my theory?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"I think some of that ecto-acid you splashed onto my chest all those years ago somehow affected my powers." I said.

"Really?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I think it's a possibility. I mean, it may not be what actually happened but still, it's a theory." I told him.

He nodded. "It does make sense though, when you think about it."

"Of course it does." I replied.

We sat in silence for a moment.

"So, the warp speed…is that the only thing you can do that you couldn't do before?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No. Apparently, I get visions too. I saw this visit coming."

"What do you mean?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The night before Sam asked me to come to Amity Park with her and to reconnect with my family, I had horrible nightmares. I couldn't think straight." I swallowed. "I thought it was because a ghost had woken me but now I realize what it was. I was having visions, and they woke me from sleep. The ghost was simply there."

My father's eyebrows were up on his forehead. "You believe that?"

I nodded. "I do."

"So…these visions? Are they constant?" He questioned.

I shook my head again. "No. So far, I've only had a few that I can remember."

He gave me a smile.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. You just…seem more and more like yourself the more I reconnect with you." He said.

I smiled. "Thank you. I'd like to believe that I can become that person again."

There was a slight hesitation when I said it, but I meant it when the words passed through my lips.

"And I'd also like to believe that we can have that relationship again." I said.

"I believe we can too." He whispered, another tear glistening in his eye.

I smiled.

The door opened and the two of us stood up from the table.

"We're back." My sister called in a sing-song-y voice.

"Hey, sis, what'd you get me?" I asked.

She chuckled. "That age old trick never works on me. You're going to have to wait until Christmas."

I nodded, a smile still on my face. I looked over her shoulder at Sam.

"What about you? What'd you get me fiancée?" I asked.

She smiled. "A kiss, for now."

"I'll take it." I replied.

She laughed and walked over to me.

We embraced and when I pulled away, she pressed her lips to mine.

After we broke apart for air, I chuckled slightly.

"What is it?" She asked, slightly breathless.

"Nothing." I replied in a whisper, then added. "I'm just glad that we came here. You really did know what was good for me."

She chuckled. "You weren't happy when I convinced you to come."

"I was wrong." I murmured, my voice low. "This is the best thing that could've happened to me. This trip has changed everything."

"For the better?" She asked, pulling away to look into my eyes.

"Yes." I replied without hesitation.

"Hey guys!" Jazz called.

I put my arm around Sam, sort of like a side-hug.

"What is it?" I asked as Sam wrapped her arm around my lower back.

"It's snowing!" My sister exclaimed.

She ran to the window and looked out.

Sam and I walked over to the window.

"Wow." I replied. "So it is."

"We should go out and have a snowball fight. Like we used to." She said.

"Only if I'm on your team." Someone said from behind us.

I smiled. I knew exactly who that person was.

I turned around, and saw Tucker leaning against the doorway.

I glanced back at my sister.

Her mouth was open. "Wh-what are you doing here? When did you get here?"

"Earlier." He shrugged. "Danny let me in."

She glanced at me. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?"

When she looked at me, Tucker got down on one knee.

She looked back at him and covered her gaping mouth with her hands. "Oh my god."

He grinned and pulled a ring out of his pocket.

"I don't have a box for it, but I know that you have a finger where this belongs." He said.

"Oh my god, yes. Yes, of course." She said starting toward him.

"Wait." He said, slightly irritated.

She paused. "What?"

"I have a whole speech planned, Jazz. You didn't even let me ask you yet." He said, frowning.

She giggled. "Ok. Then ask me."

"Jasmine Fenton, I have been in love for the past four years of my life. You were the one who took care of me when I had no one to turn to. You convinced me that I needed to take my recovery seriously. And through it all, you were gracious and kind and accepting and I have loved you ever since." He said, a tear running down his face.

Jazz choked back a soft sob.

"Jasmine, will you marry me?" He asked.

"Yes, of course!" She yelled and ran over to him.

With a little staggering, he stood up and embraced her.

They kissed, and when they parted, he slid the ring on her finger.

"Now it's where it belongs for forever." He whispered.

I pulled Sam closer to me.

She sighed in contentment and leaned her head against my chest.

Tucker looked up. "So are we going to build snow forts, or what?"

I laughed, and Sam pulled away. "Boys against girls?"

"That sounds perfect." I replied and pecked a kiss to her cheek.

The four of us walked out into the snow, and somehow became kids again.

Nothing mattered in those few minutes.

Everything had worked out perfectly. Amity Park was safe, I had made peace with my family…I was lighter than ever.

Everything was going to be ok, I was sure of it.

The snow, and the wind were cold, but inside I was warm. Filled up with hope for the future.


	53. Epilogue

**A/N: 52 chapters, over 60,000 words. **

**289 reviews, 113 followers, 71 favorites, almost 40,000 views...thank you. :) **

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5 years later:

My 3 year old daughter ran past me, giggling loudly.

"Hey," I called after her.

I picked her up and placed her on my hip. "What are you doing running around?"

"I'm playing with Jimmy!" She exclaimed, trying to wriggle out of my grasp.

I laughed. "You're playing with your cousin?"

She nodded, and stopped trying to wriggle out. "Daddy, will you put me down now? He'll get away and then I'll never win."

I chuckled and set her back down on the ground.

She took off running again and I called after her. "Hey, be careful."

She disappeared around the corner and I shook my head, chuckling.

My very pregnant wife came into the living room and smiled at me.

"Hey, Sam." I said and walked over to her.

She kissed me, then pulled away. "Have you seen our daughter?"

"Yeah, she's running around here somewhere." I smiled.

I put a hand on her stomach. "You ok?"

"Yes, Danny. I'm pregnant, not disabled." She rolled her eyes.

"I just worry." I responded, kissing her neck.

"Umm, get a room guys." My sister called to us.

I looked at her.

Tucker had his arms wrapped around her waist, and was getting ready to kiss her.

"Speaking of." I called back.

She laughed and I went back to paying attention to my wife.

"Where are your parents?" She asked.

"They're in the kitchen, spoiling their grandchildren probably." I laughed.

She chuckled. "I love you, Danny."

"I love you, too." I replied.

"Guys, it's dinner time!" My mom called.

Jimmy and my daughter came streaking past and into the kitchen.

"Hey, slow down!" Jazz and I called at the same time.

Tucker and Sam laughed at us.

"You guys are hilarious." Tucker said, giving Jazz a wink.

She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek.

"Come on, baby, let's go eat."

I took Sam's hand and led her to the kitchen table.

The conversation at the table was both hard to follow and wonderful.

My mom, "Do you like your truck, Jimmy?"

My daughter, "Mommy, I want to sit beside uncle Tucker."

My father, "Pass the rolls, Jazz."

My wife, "Sweetheart, you should sit beside your dad and me for right now. Your cousin probably wants to sit with his dad."

Jimmy, "Mommy, why do I have to use a sippy cup? I'm too OLD for a sippy cup!"

Jazz, "Here you go, dad. Jimmy, settle down."

I looked around at my family. They were passing food around, arguing, loving each other…just having a good time.

I smiled, and said above everyone. "Merry Christmas."

The noise died down and slowly my family members picked up their glasses as well.

"Merry Christmas." They repeated, smiles on their faces.

We all drank from our glasses and silence settled around us for about ten seconds, then conversation resumed.

Sam took my hand.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"For what?" She whispered back, putting a roll on my plate.

"For believing that my family and I could work it out. Without your belief and persistence, the two of us probably wouldn't be sitting here surrounded by all the people who love us." I told her.

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too." I responded.

Conversation around us was just as chipper as it was when we sat down to eat.

This Christmas was just like the four that came before it.

Everything was relaxed and great and it felt like home again.

A smile passed across my face, Christmas with my family felt normal again.


	54. Deleted Scenes

**A/N: Hi readers! There was a reason I hadn't changed this story status to complete. *laughs evilly* I had a few more tricks up my sleeve. :D Here are two deleted scenes that never made it into the fanfiction because the fanfiction took a different direction than originally planned. These are unedited, and without a whole lot of description/detail. At the time, I was mainly focused on the dialogue. But since you guys have been so nice, and have given me over 300 REVIEWS!, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to give you guys two scenes that would have made it into the fanfiction if this story had taken a different path. :) Please let me know what you think! And this is the LAST time I'll update Christmas Visit unless I decide to edit it of course lol. Once again, thanks for being my faithful readers, you all have a special place in my heart. :) Enjoy! **

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**Deleted Scene #1: **

"You know what?" I demand, my emotions rising to the surface again. "I came up here to mend what was broken!"

My father just looks at me. We're back to the same old argument we had just days earlier.

My voice is quiet and almost breaks as I continue speaking. "I came up here to give you another chance, but it feels like I'm the one in the wrong."

My father stays silent. Just looking at me.

I silently curse myself for the tears that spring to my eyes. "I am trying so hard to open up my heart and my mind to the idea of the two of us talking again but it's too hard. You're not willing to make this work, dad and I can't be the only one trying in this relationship."

My father turns his hazy gaze on me. "Son…I never wanted you to leave."

"You tried to kill me!" I yell, my voice echoing off the lab walls.

My father visibly winces.

"If that doesn't say get out, what does dad?" I ask.

My father sighs and looks away from me.

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**Deleted Scene #2: **

I feel my father's gaze on me long before he speaks. "I can't agree with what you are…"

"Can't agree with it or can't accept it? Cause there is a difference." I reply absentmindedly looking at my cell phone screen.

I look up to see my father's narrowed eyes.

"Fine, can't accept it." He says.

I hold his gaze, and quietly respond. "I'm still the same person, dad."

He grunts a response that I don't catch.

I choose to ignore whatever it was he said. "There's a chance that we could get past this."

He meets my gaze again and just stares.

I hold my breath. "What do you think?"

He slowly clenches and unclenches his jaw. "I used to destroy things like you."

My mouth falls open as his words sting my ears. I recover quickly though, and close my mouth.

I stand up from the couch. "Fine. Forget what I said. There is no way that we can get past this."


End file.
